


The Winter We Met

by coinseller



Category: Wanna One (Band)
Genre: Fluff, Humor, M/M, Romance, dude wtf am i writing a kdrama????, guanlin is an only child and an heir, jihoon has a big family, jihoon is poor, panwink are their actual ages, this is literally That One trope, woojin daniel and nayoung are his siblings, woojin is 6 daniel is 2 and nayoung is 21
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-12-19
Updated: 2018-10-03
Packaged: 2019-02-17 05:36:09
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 8
Words: 61,416
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13070220
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/coinseller/pseuds/coinseller
Summary: Jihoon and his family win a once in a lifetime Christmas vacation to a luxury resort in the mountains! As fun as it sounds, Jihoon is absolutely dreading it. His family is obnoxious, noisy, and, not to mention, extremely embarrassing. He just wants to go back home where he’s comfortable and happy.However, that all changes when he meets a boy—a boy so, totally out of his league—who ends up making his entire vacation worthwhile.





	1. Chapter 1

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> HI GUYS!!! im back… already… with a new multichaptered fic LOL /SWEATS NERVOUSLY… (its only been like, what… a week and a half since my last one ? rip I have so much fun feeding this tag)  
> anyway, I got distracted while writing the angst panwink fic I had planned so.. here I am… writing another holiday panwink fluff. for Christmas/New Years this time. (I’ll try not to go overboard again and make this super long like I did for Halloween LOLOL... but it looks like i already have considering this chap is like 7.4K words and guanlin isnt even in it yet :0 but im shooting to have this done before the end of jan!)
> 
> ALSO!!! this fic is dedicated to the wonderful ao3 user moondaisies <3 she keeps hyping me up for no valid reason AND I DON’T DESERVE HER /WEEPS & PUNCHES HER WITH MY LOVE :(
> 
> WARNING: this chapter is very long and VERY information heavy adsjfalskdf so bear with me, I just need to get a lot of introductory stuff outta the way so we can have fun later in the story :D ok? ok.

Midterms week eventually comes to a sweet and merciful end for the high school senior, Park Jihoon.

 

He hastily finishes up his final essay question on his Government Studies test and proudly ends his last statement with a hard stab of his pencil—dramatically coloring in the period at the end of his sentence.

 

Jihoon turns in his paper to his teacher with a polite grin and goes back to his desk, sitting down and waiting for the rest of the students to finish.

 

Jihoon breathes deeply and nods with a dull smile on his face that doesn’t quite reach his eyes. _Yeah,_ he thinks to himself. He is absolutely, 100% confident that he’s failed the class for the semester with a high F. Hopefully a low D. But that’s highly unlikely. _Rest in pieces._

 

Jihoon folds his hands in prayer and silently cries out to whatever god is listening to bless the future of his GPA. Only when he starts getting weird looks from his peers does Jihoon let his hands fall into his lap—embarrassed from having been caught in this weakened, vulnerable state.

 

Clearing his throat, Jihoon settles on watching the clock for the remaining amount of time, staring at the second hand and counting down until the bell rings.

 

In reality, Jihoon doesn’t actually care about his grades at this point. There’s really no hope for him because his passions lie elsewhere and, truthfully speaking, he’s just _really_ looking forward to winter break and how much fun he’s going to have never seeing the sun of day ever again.

 

He’s already meticulously planning out what the schedule for his next month and a half of freedom is going to look like. And he’s already decided, first things first, he’s going to take a 3-day long nap.

 

That’s a given.

 

Jihoon cannot _possibly_ think of a better way to start the break off, than with a satisfying, much-deserved nap. It has been proven (by Jihoon himself) that long naps are the sole remedy for stress—particularly from failing yet another semester of school. That, and he just really needs to catch up on rest, considering he has only slept a total of 10 hours in the past 5 days due to studying.

 

 _Three whole days_ of sleep, however, might seem like overkill to some people. At that, Jihoon laughs. Three short, concessive “ha’s.” To them, he says, fuck you. He can do whatever he wants. It’s break! And no one can tell him what to do otherwise!

 

Jihoon grins smugly to himself, nodding.

 

Next on his itinerary is where the fun _really_ starts. He rubs his hands together in excitement.

 

After he wakes up, Jihoon plans on kicking it back with a 12-pack of Mountain Dew, a lifetime supply of Spicy Nacho Cheese flavored Doritos, and his PC, playing PUBG or Overwatch in 15 hour intervals (only stopping to pee and occasionally shower) until his eyes dry up and his brain fries.

 

When that happens, Jihoon figures that he’s going to have to take another nap for three more days. Which sounds perfect.

 

And from there, it’s just rinse, wash, and repeat.

 

Jihoon sighs dreamily. That’s the life. _Oh, he’s so ready for break_. _He needs this break,_ he sobs internally, burying his face into his hands for added measure.

 

He bounces his leg up and down impatiently and continues to wait.

 

The bell eventually rings its sweet, loud cry of freedom and Jihoon instantly springs up from his desk, waltzing his way to the door. He takes one last look around the classroom and hopes that the place burns down during his time away.

 

He then bids his friends a farewell and tells them that he’ll see them online—reminding them that if they ever needed to contact him, the only way he’ll respond is via a strongly worded, borderline threatening 1v1 request on his battlenet account. And in reply, his friends tell him to kindly fuck off.

 

Jihoon shoots them a wink.

 

With that, the boy spins across the hallway and runs towards his small home a few blocks down the road.

 

After a few minutes, he sees his house coming into focus and there are almost tears of joy in his eyes. He’s thinking about sleep and video games and piles upon _piles_ of junk food—but the immediate moment Jihoon steps through the threshold of his home, all his plans are foiled, _destroyed_ , Brutally Annihilated with a capital ‘B’ _and_ a capital ‘A,’ when his parents rush up to him in an excited mess. Holding what looks to be a pamphlet titled: _“YOU’VE WON”_

 

“SURPISE!!!” They yell, decked out in Santa hats with ugly reindeer sweaters to match. “We’ve got great news!!”

 

Jihoon blinks rapidly and his heart practically stops in his chest. He looks from his parents to the pamphlet in their hands—then back and forth, back and forth again—and he quickly figures that whatever they have to say is, in fact, not great news. He gulps hard.

 

Jihoon assumes the worst and the worst is _exactly_ what he gets because then, his parents cheer, “We’ve won a trip to take the family on a vacation!!”

 

It’s those eleven words that send the entire universe crashing around Jihoon like the early coming of the apocalypse. The color drains from his face and his mouth gapes open in wordless shock.

 

This couldn’t be happening. Not like this—what about his nap? His countless hours of video gaming? _His Doritos?_

 

“Wh-Wh-“ Jihoon sputters, speechless and absolutely devastated. He searches his parents desperately, eyes begging for them to take it all back—tell him this is all just some kind of sick joke. But his parents only beam back at him harder. Smiles intensifying by the second and burning right through Jihoon’s crumbling heart like a laser.

 

 _“Where_ are we going, you ask?”

 

 _“WHY_ _ARE WE GOING?!”_ He cries, lips trembling. He’s not an emotional person, but, _man_ , Jihoon really feels like breaking down and sobbing right now. He chokes on his breath and his backpack slides onto the floor with a loud _THUMP_.

 

His mother clicks her tongue disapprovingly and Jihoon scrambles to wipe his eyes before tears can actually fall. “Oh, hush, Jihoon. You’re overreacting,” She says with a semi-sympathetic smile, patting her son on the head. Jihoon, on the contrary, thinks his reaction is quite reasonable considering how horribly crushed he’s feeling right now. “Come on, it’ll be fun! _”_ She adds.

 

“Yeah,” His father adds, grinning as well. “Not to mention I’ve been putting in a few more hours of overtime at work so we could have a shot at winning all this.”

 

His mother coos happily and kisses his cheek, bursting with pride and affection.

 

But Jihoon can only frown. He’s still overwhelmingly upset and, _on top of that_ , he’s now feeling slightly guilty. He really doesn’t want to be going on this vacation, _especially_ not when he’s got so much planned for the break. He internally experiences the five stages of grief, however, stopping before he reaches the “acceptance” step, for obvious reasons.

 

Nevertheless, this trip looks important to his parents for some stupid, unknown reason. So Jihoon sighs in defeat. He swallows up his sorrow and with as much strength and enthusiasm as he can muster (which is very little at that), he whimpers, “So… where are you taking us?”

 

His parents grin at each other before sliding a brochure into Jihoon’s hands. On it depicts a beautiful picture of a snowy mountain range, with what looks to be a small town positioned in between the dips of its peaks. The town climbs up one of the mountainsides and at the very top of the brochure, in elegant, golden writing, are the words: _Hundred Seasons Mountain Resort—_ it’s the name of the place he and his family will be staying for the next few weeks.

 

Jihoon stares at the paper with a sour expression and he feels his heart sink impossibly lower in his chest. He turns to his parents, lips drawn tight into a thin, unimpressed line. But when he looks up, he finds his parents are already gone, scrambling around the house and rounding up his siblings.

 

“GET PACKED! We leave tomorrow!” His mother sings.

 

With one final glance at the paper, Jihoon thinks that he has never dreaded his winter vacation as much as he has at this very moment.

 

\---

 

The following day, Jihoon’s _six_ person family somehow manages to stuff themselves, and their luggage’s, into their small, _five_ person car.

 

It’s incredible how the vehicle hadn’t fallen apart the second Jihoon situated himself into his seat by the window. It shudders and creaks once Jihoon’s weight is added to the mix of his entire family. Once his dad starts up the little car, the engine makes a weird popping sound and roars to life after a few tries at the ignition. Jihoon winces, but the next thing he knows, they’re driving off.

 

Jihoon seriously doubts they’re going to make the entire five hour trip in this rickety, old car and that feeling only intensifies once his little brother stars jumping up and down in his seat, shaking the entire thing, car dangerously rocking back and forth.

 

Jihoon groans and slides further down in his chair. He already feels a headache coming on and, as if by some off chance they do end up crashing, he starts praying to god for a swift, merciful death.

 

But that death doesn’t come fast enough since Jihoon can wholly admit he isn’t looking forward to spending _this much time_ holed up in such a cramped up space with his three other siblings.

 

Things aren’t off to a great start because five minutes into the trip, he suddenly hears his sister screaming.

 

 _“MOM!”_ She cries, “Woojin _BIT_ me”

 

Woojin begins cackling wildly and his mother sighs, already tuning her children out.

 

“He’s still teething sweetie,” She hums dismissively, without a single care.

 

 _“TEETHING???”_ His sister screeches, practically losing her mind. “Okay, one: Woojin is six years old, which way past ‘ _teething_ ’ age—” She makes quotes with her fingers, one hand still holding her phone, “and two, Woojin is not a _fucking_ dog—”

 

 _“Laungauge,_ Nayoung.”

 

Nayoung groans loudly and huffs in defeat. She then settles on staring out the window, crossing her arms defiantly and flicking through whatever social media site she deems worthy enough to hear her complaints—which will probably end up being all of them.

 

 _Yeah._ Jihoon’s family, in short, is a mess. And from what he has gathered from looking through the mountain resort’s brochure, a family like his _definitely_ does not belong there.

 

The resort is probably one of the classiest, most _fancy_ places he’s ever seen—almost like it was pulled out of some kind of movie. Everything listed in the brochure is expensive, targeted at only the extremely wealthy. It’s a miracle that they’re even getting into this place—and they probably wouldn’t have if they hadn’t actually won the trip.

 

His parents are a happy couple—middle aged and slowly graying. They’re both family people who care endlessly for their children. While, they can be overbearing sometimes, they’re usually enthusiastic and very much embarrassing.

 

His father is tall and lean, sporting a pretty impressive mustache with a bit of stubble on his chin, while his mother is short and a little heavy-set, with has red cheeks and a gentle smile. They both have almost unnoticeable bags under their eyes, which is understandable because they’re raising four kids and working 8-hour day jobs. Jihoon idly thinks that they probably really needed this vacation—but that itself doesn’t excuse the fact that they all, including his siblings, do not belong at the mountain resort they’re currently driving to.

 

Jihoon sits on the far left of the back seat and right next to him is his two-year-old baby brother, Daniel.

 

Daniel is probably the world’s most bubbly little baby, always laughing with his nose scrunched up and a big smile that proudly shows off his only teeth: the top two. His family thinks that he looks like a bunny and, weirdly enough, he acts like one. Daniel is a bundle of joy who barely ever cries, but only does when he’s separated from his most favorite, one-eyed cat plushy named Rooney. And, speaking of Rooney, the doll is positioned in his lap right now, tail in Daniel’s mouth and wet with drool. He looks up to Jihoon and spits out the toy appendage, babbling something and bursting into a wide grin, pleased with his older brother’s attention.

 

Jihoon frowns. _Cute…_

 

However, next to Daniel, is a kid who is not as cute. Rather, he’s a monster in kid-form.

 

Sharing the middle seat with the baby is none other than Jihoon’s six-year-old little brother, Woojin.

 

Woojin is a tiny human shell filled to the brim with nuclear energy—ready to burst at any given moment. _He is a force to be reckoned with._ Woojin runs instead of walking, he screams instead of speaking. Unlike Daniel, Woojin has all of his teeth _except_ for his front two. One of them had fallen out naturally while the other was forced out when he slammed his face into the pavement after speeding his tricycle off the local playground slide.

 

Woojin, however, is tolerable. In all honestly, Jihoon is actually quite amused by him—well, _most of the time._ Usually he’s just concerned. _But that’s aside from his point_.

 

Next to Woojin, is a person that Jihoon absolutely cannot tolerate. Seated at the far right of the backseat—and thankfully, far, _far_ away from him—is his older sister, Nayoung.

 

Nayoung is twenty-one and presents herself in a holier-than-thou sort of way. In their youth and through all their years growing up together, saying that Jihoon and Nayoung fought _quite a bit_ is an understatement. They disagree on everything and irritate one another to no end. With age, however, they’ve come to an agreement to just never speak to each other. Ever. Ignoring their presence and only talking when it’s absolutely necessary—but never without an annoyed tone in their voices.

 

And, speaking of which, the brother and sister duo end up arguing a few minutes after they merge onto the highway (and what they end up arguing about is absolutely necessary, mind you).

 

What started out as a mindless chat about the weather, ended up evolving into a heated debate over whether or not Starbucks was really worth the amount of money they sell their coffee for. Which, Jihoon thinks, is absolutely not.

 

“You spend your money on video games and _loot boxes_ —which is a total waste—I don’t even know why I’m even listening to your opinion,” Nayoung snaps, annoyed. Jihoon sputters offendedly.

 

“That’s rich coming from the person who spends her money on countless shades of eye shadow! _That she doesn’t even wear!!”_ Jihoon retorts, throwing his hands into the air. “At least I use my video games and all the loot boxes I buy. I’ve only ever seen you wear one color—” He adds.

 

Nayoung’s mouth drops open and she gasps, “I use all of them! _Every. Single. One_ ,” She enunciates. “They just have very similar shades, but, of course, _you_ wouldn’t be able to tell the difference—”

 

 _“I HAVE TO PEE!!”_ Woojin suddenly yells.

 

Jihoon and Nayoung’s argument only derails from there. They start insulting each other’s life styles then each other in general, raising their voices and leaning closer and closer with every word that leaves their mouth. They bend over Daniel and Woojin to get into each other’s faces, practically spitting now.

 

Woojin is squirming around in his chair and whining at this point, holding his crotch and chanting, _“I HAVE TO PEE, I HAVE TO PEE, I HAVE TO PEEE!”_ And Daniel joins in too—clapping and laughing loudly—highly amused by all his siblings, and screaming along, just for the heck of it.

 

The car is bursting to the edge with noise and it only comes to a silence once their mother shouts, “HUSH!! ALL OF YOU!”

 

Everyone freezes.

 

“We’re going to listen to Christmas music and you’re only allowed to open your mouth if you’re planning on singing along,” She declares, blasting _Baby It’s Cold Outside_. “And, Woojin, we stopped to use the potty twenty minutes ago. You don’t have to pee, honey. Hold it in like a big boy.”

 

Woojin huffs and pouts, sliding back into his seat with his arms crossed.

 

His parents then start singing to the radio and Nayoung looks like she wants to fling herself out the window. Jihoon would never admit it, but he feels her pain.

 

In an attempt to drown out his parent’s off-tune duet and the ear piercing sound of horrible Christmas music, Jihoon grabs for his earbuds and turns his own music up even louder.

 

He turns to his side and gets comfortable. They have about four hours left of the entire trip so, with that, he closes his eyes and dozes off to sleep.

 

 

 

 

About an hour and a potty break (that he missed) later, Jihoon wakes up when his music unexpectedly turns off.

 

He blinks awake and looks around in confusion. His earbuds are still in his ear but... why wasn’t his music still playing?

 

With tired eyes, Jihoon’s gaze tracks the wire. It twists and turns in a tangled, knotted mess until the line comes to an abrupt end. In Daniel’s mouth.

 

Jihoon’s eyes widen in terror and Daniel smiles happily back at him, letting the wire fall from his lips.

 

Jihoon picks up his earbuds and holds them gingerly in his hands, shocked speechless. It had been cleanly chewed right through—as if cut by scissors.

 

“You—” Jihoon chokes. He’s never wanted to punch a baby more than he has right now.

 

Daniel, however, is completely oblivious to Jihoon’s rage and he giggles innocently, shoving his hands into his own mouth.

 

He tilts his head curiously and asks, “Hyung sad?”

 

Jihoon is more than sad. Actually,he wants to cry. First, his family pulls him away from his PC and now, _this?_ No computer, _no music_ —Jihoon closes his eyes and takes a deep breath, chasing what little sanity he has left.

 

Which is, unsurprisingly, very little.

 

Suddenly, Jihoon feels something wet press to his mouth and he’s jolting back into reality, eyes ripping open in confusion.

 

“Rooney kiss!” Daniel cheers, pressing his slobbery cat plushy into Jihoon’s face. “Kisses make you happy!!” He insists, making wet smacking noises with his lips for added effect.

 

Jihoon would have found it cute. But Rooney is sticky and gross, and it doesn’t change the fact that his earbuds are still ruined. So he just stares brokenly at his baby brother, eyes empty and dead, as he’s smothered in saliva and toy cat fur.

 

The rest of the car ride is quiet from there, save for a few discussions here and there.

 

Nayoung stays glued to her phone, and when it dies, she falls asleep. Daniel also takes sporadic naps, entertaining himself by staring off into the distance and giggling at nothing in particular when he’s awake. Woojin plays with his toy cars and too eventually passes out in a sudden moment—dropping dead like he had a heart attack or something.

 

The family has less than two hours left of their car ride and they’re starting to get into a more rural area, where there are more trees than there are people and buildings. It’s been thirty minutes since their last bathroom break, but that amount of time means nothing to Woojin’s ever-full bladder.

 

 _“I HAVE TO PEE!!”_ He whines again, clutching at his crotch and wiggling around in his seat.

 

No one really pays the boy much mind though. Woojin’s bathroom issues had been a consistent occurrence throughout the entire trip, so it’s not really surprising to anyone anymore. But when he starts whimpering, his mother speaks up.

 

“Again?” She asks in disbelief. “But you _just_ peed half an hour ago. You’re not even drinking anything, sweetie.”

 

“I KNOW, BUT I HAVE TO PEE!!” He cries, mouth turning down into a desperate frown.

 

“You’re gonna have to hold it, son,” His father replies. “We’re really far from the next town and we can’t stop here.”

 

Woojin grumbles and slouches in his seat. “But I really, _REALLY_ , have to go...”

 

“I know, honey, I know,” His mom replies. “Just hold it in for a _little_ bit longer, okay?”

 

Woojin huffs. “Okay…” He mumbles.

 

But its only five minutes later when Woojin whines again. “MOMMY!! I HAVE TO GO!”

 

“Forty more minutes, okay? Hold it for forty more minutes.”

 

Woojin cries stressfully.

 

Then, ten minutes pass. _“MOMMY!!! I’M GOING TO EXPLODE!!”_

 

“Just half an hour, tops,” She says, voice soothing.

 

Woojin, in short, doesn’t make it. It’s only three minutes later when the boy, rips off his seatbelt, stands up in his chair, and screams, “I _HAVE_ to PEE! RIGHT! **NOW!** ”

 

With that, his hands fly to his crotch and Woojin suddenly starts to unzip his pants, face scrunched up in determination.

 

Once she realizes what is going on, Nayoung shrieks at the top of her lungs. “MOM, HE’S GOING TO PEE IN THE CAR!! STOP, WOOJIN— _STOP IT!_ ” She presses impossibly closer to the door and shoves the boy away from her, turning him towards Daniel and Jihoon.

 

Jihoon’s life flashes before his eyes when Woojin quickly shifts to his waistband, pulling his pants down in one swift motion. It’s then that the situation hits Jihoon like a train and his soul actually leaves his body for a second, heart stopping in his chest.

 

“DON’T PUSH HIM THIS WAY!!!” Jihoon shouts, grabbing at Daniel and holding him protectively close, fearing for both of their lives.

 

“THIS JACKET WAS EXPENSIVE!! YOU HAVE LESS TO LOSE,” Nayoung screeches back.

 

“DANIEL IS OVER HERE!! THINK ABOUT THE BABy—”

 

“HIS DEATH IS A SACRIFICE I AM WILLING TO TAKE,” She interjects, “He lived a noble life…”

 

Jihoon looks at his sister in horror and Daniel starts giggling, completely unaware of the dire situation ensuing around him.

 

Woojin is seconds away from pulling down his briefs and Jihoon’s vision starts blurring—seeing in only flashes of yellow—when suddenly, the car swerves off to the side and the door flings open. Nayoung squawks and tumbles onto the cement of the road in a heap of limbs.

 

His father steps around her and yanks Woojin out of the car, rushing him over to a nearby tree and allowing the boy to do his business in peace.

 

It’s a few minutes afterwards that Jihoon hears Woojin sigh loudly in relief somewhere off in the distance.

 

Nayoung eventually pulls herself off of the ground and glares at Jihoon and Daniel—Jihoon clutching Daniel to his chest and curled up together against their side of the car, still frozen with shock from the post-trauma of having almost become a human urinal.

 

Jihoon blinks at his sister in muted disbelief and Daniel gurgles cheerfully, eyes twinkling with oblivious excitement.

 

Nayoung’s hair is a tangled mess and her eyes are tired and angry. “You’re all _insufferable_ ,” She hisses.

 

And after that fiasco, all four of them end up sleeping for the next hour and a half of the trip.

 

\---

 

Jihoon is the first to wake up when he suddenly hears his mother whisper, “We’re almost there!”

 

He blinks the slumber from his eyes and yawns, stretching and wincing when he feels a sting in his neck. His arm is asleep and heavy, and his shirt is wet where Daniel had been drooling on him. He groans. _Yuck._

 

The first thing Jihoon notices, is that it’s considerably colder in the car now and that the windows are fogged over, moist from his family’s combined breathing.

 

He swipes his hand across the window a few times and examines that they’re somewhere deep within the mountains now, driving on a road that is covered with white, fluffy snow.

 

There are thick trees everywhere and, through the gaps of leaves, Jihoon sees that the sky is turning a dark shade of red, sun setting where he can’t see.

 

Woojin is the next to wake up, gasping loudly and tearing his seatbelt off. He climbs onto Nayoung’s lap and peers out the window, overjoyed. Nayoung wakes up with a start when Woojin begins bouncing, yelling, “SNOW!! THERE’S SNOW!! DADDY, I WANT TO TOUCH THE SNOW!”

 

Woojin looks like he’s about to punch right through the window and jump out of the car—and Jihoon is 90% sure he’s actually going to do it—but the boy halts when mother replies, “Soon enough, sweetie. Just a few more minutes.”

 

A few more minutes apparently translates into practically a half an hour of them driving uphill, twisting up and up the mountain. The snow gets thicker the higher they climb, and once they peek through a final row of threes, they’re greeted with a view of the resort, lit up and glowing warmly in the distance.

 

“Wooaahh,” Woojin sighs.

 

The rest of his family gasps in awe as well.

 

And even though Jihoon was set on stubbornly disliking this entire trip, he too had to admit that the sight was pretty—even prettier than the picture in the brochure—the entire place twinkling invitingly, like stars.

 

The car comes to a stop in front of a small check-in building situated about a mile in front of the actual resort. When his father pulls the keys out of the ignition, he hops out of the car and tells them to sit tight, saying that he’ll be right back, before disappearing inside of the building.

 

A few minutes later, he comes back out with a little folder full of papers and lanyards with cards attached to them.

 

He distributes a lanyard to every person in the family, except Daniel, who delightedly shoves the corner of the card up his nose immediately upon receiving it. Jihoon watches as his dad gently takes the lanyard from the baby’s teeny hands, wincing, “Actually, on second thought, I’ll just hang onto this for you, little buddy.”

 

Daniel giggles in response and pulls his foot up, easily managing to get his entire toe into his nostril instead.

 

His dad turns to address the rest of the family. “Don’t lose these cards, okay? They’re your access to everything on the resort—activities, specific areas, etcetera, etcetera…”

 

They all nod.

 

“Good.”

 

Once that’s established, his dad fires up the car again and they continue to drive further up the mountain until they’re right at the bottom of the resort. There, they find a row of small cabins off to the side of the location and near the base of the mountain at which the town climbs up.

 

The car stops in front of one particular cabin and, at this point, Woojin is practically exploding in his seat, pressing against Nayoung and shoving his cheek to the window of the car.

 

“I WANT TO GO TO THE SNOW NOW!! LET ME OUT, LET ME OUT!” He chants.

 

The instant that Nayoung opens the door, Woojin barrels out, rolling onto the ground in a heap. He then springs up and launches himself into the closest pile of snow he can find. Woojin growls and promptly begins to shovel handfuls of snow into his gaping maw.

 

His mother screams in horror. “WOOJIN! THAT’S DIRTY! STOP!” She cries, hurrying over to her son.

 

However, Woojin doesn’t stop. In fact, he consumes the snow faster.

 

He presses his mouth to the ground begins to scoop—ferociously chomping away at every block of ice that he can get his hands on. He’s still trying to eat the snow even after his mom has yanked him up, dragging him away.

 

But Jihoon pays his brother no mind. In actuality, he _expected_ this to happen, recalling how Woojin had reacted similarly when they took him the beach for the first time.

 

Except Woojin looks like he’s enjoying the taste of the snow far more than he did sand.

 

Jihoon jumps out of the car and helps Daniel onto his feet, holding his hand and letting the baby wobble around on the icy cement.

 

Daniel has fun slipping around on the pavement and pressing his fingers to the soft snow. He’s cooing with excited curiosity and dragging Rooney around by the tail. Jihoon dutifully makes sure that his brother doesn’t fall over with a tight grip and steadying the boy when his legs slip out from underneath him. He then bends down onto his knees when he notices something, and wipes Daniel’s wet mouth with his sleeve.

 

“Stop drooling you dumb baby,” He chides, “Your lips are going to freeze shut.”

 

In reply, Daniel laughs all bubbly and high pitched. This only allows for more slobber to seep from the corners of his mouth and, at this, Jihoon sighs. His efforts are pointless.

 

It’s then that he suddenly hears his mom yell, “Nayoung or Jihoon, can one of you _please_ control Woojin while we unpack?”

 

Jihoon looks up and sees Woojin desperately trying to break from his mother’s grasp, trying his hardest to get back to the snow with hunger in his eyes. Jihoon is about to shove the responsibility onto his sister but she’s already hoisting Daniel up into her arms. “I had to deal with him the entire car ride. It’s _your_ turn,” She says pointedly. And with a quirk of her brow, she walks away.

 

So that’s how Jihoon finds himself with Woojin, fist wound tightly with the end of a child-leash. On the end of that leash is Woojin, who is running around him in circles, tangling Jihoon up and cackling elatedly when he’s fully mummified his older brother.

 

Jihoon stares at his mother lifelessly.

 

“Just…” She sighs, exhaustion apparent in her voice. “Take him on a walk. Or a run. Whatever tires him out the most,” She ends up saying. “But come back before it gets too dark and try not to get lost.”

 

“Right,” Jihoon replies flatly.

 

Once his mom turns away, Jihoon begins to drag Woojin—or rather— _Woojin_ begins to drag _Jihoon_ around the entire resort.

 

The little ball of energy bolts up the hill from where their cabins are located and heads towards the central part of the resort.

 

From what Jihoon can see—and what he’s gathered from flipping through the brochure—this entire place can basically be split into layers.

 

The location climbs up the side of a mountain and is completely detached from society, the next town being situated somewhere near the bottom of the mountain range and miles down the road.

 

Jihoon can tell that this resort was made to be a private place—a getaway location for extremely wealthy people. Or, in Jihoon’s case, extremely _lucky_ people who somehow win the rare, once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to visit.

 

At the bottom of the resort are the cheapest housing options, which is where his family is staying. However, the word _cheap_ is used very lightly in this context. The cabins are still very expensive from what he’s read according to the brochure. However, they’re nothing in comparison to the other living options scattered about on the resort.

 

Above where his family is staying is the next area. This is where most of the attractions and sites are.

 

Jihoon embarrassedly ignores the stares of on-looking people while Woojin zips into the main town of the resort. Here, they are greeted with rows and rows of stores and restaurants.

 

Jihoon suddenly feels very self-conscious wearing his generic baby blue coat over a yellow cardigan he may or may not have gotten from his grandpa four birthdays ago.

 

Every person he passes is dressed in sleek, name-brand clothing. The gravity of how expensive this place _really_ begins to settle deep within Jihoon’s stomach like a boulder, and he starts to feel a bit uncomfortable being here.

 

Woojin drags him by countless of high-end stores with foreign names—some that he’s never even heard of in his life. They run past restaurants after restaurants, and Jihoon only glances at the inside for a second, but he ultimately concludes that he’s way too poor to even be looking at the menu—let alone actually eating there.

 

He almost chokes when he sees a sign selling coffee at 20,000 won.

 

_Who in their right mind would pay 20,000 won for one, small drink?_

 

Suddenly, Jihoon recalls his conversation with his sister in the car and, not that he’ll ever admit it, but maybe she was right. Maybe Starbucks _was_ really worth your money if rich people were spending their cash on coffee _this_ expensive.

 

He doesn’t get to think any further on the subject because Woojin zooms them by an ice rink and sprints away, climbing further and further up the hill.

 

They pass by a few signs pointing to where several ski slopes are located, including a hiking trail, a few community lodges, different event areas, and various other attractions that Jihoon doesn’t quite catch because Woojin is a _very_ fast runner—too fast for him to even see where he’s going.

 

Jihoon practically trips trying to keep up with his brother, death grip on the child leash in his hands and begging the boy to slow down a little—and quiet down too.

 

Unfortunately, in response, Woojin yells like a barbarian as he flies up the hill at the quickest speed his short legs will carry him.

 

Soon enough, they reach near the peak of the mountain, where only the wealthiest people in the resort stay. Realizing where they are, Jihoon desperately tries to convince Woojin to use his inside-voice in hopes that they don’t draw too much attention to themselves. He words it in a way so that Woojin takes it as a challenge—a game—that the boy heartily accepts, zipping his mouth shut and smirking, already accepting his victory.

 

They wander around aimlessly while Jihoon takes in the architecture of the area. While the main area and below had been mostly wooden buildings standing tightly together—combining minimal and rustic characteristics—with brick bases and curved windows, the architecture up here, in comparison, was drastically different.

 

Here, everything was spaced out. Each room was not even a _room_ —rather, they were all almost penthouses. The buildings were white and some sides, completely made of glass. All the rooms connected to what looked to be a large multi-story building, probably reserved for the people who can actually afford to live in such a luxurious place.

 

And, as of right now, Jihoon notices that workers are scrambling in and out of the building with looks of panic in their eyes. He vaguely wonders why, but ultimately decides that he doesn’t care. It has nothing to do with him and it never will, considering he shouldn’t even _be_ here in the first place.

 

But it’s then that Woojin decides that he has to pee. Again.

 

“Hyung, can I pee in the snow?” The boy asks with an eager smile on his face.

 

“Definitely not,” Jihoon replies and his brother frowns, shoulders drooping, disheartened.

 

Jihoon thinks that there might be a bathroom inside of the building, so they walk up to it and are immediately stopped at the doors.

 

“Can I see an ID from you two?” A lady at the entrance asks, eyes scanning them judgingly, probably stopping them because they obviously didn’t dress like they belonged in this building.

 

Jihoon and Woojin obediently pull their lanyards from their necks and the lady looks them over, pursing her lips. “You guys don’t have the clearance to get into this building,” She says, “I’m sorry.”

 

But Woojin is determined to pee, so with the biggest puppy eyes and the highest tone of voice he can muster, he whimpers, “Miss, I really, _really_ need to use the potty. If I hold it in any longer… I-I’ll die…”

 

Jihoon stares at his brother in disbelief, almost gagging at how uncharacteristically sweet he’s being right now. He’s ready to pull Woojin away so that they can go find a different bathroom to use, but, to his surprise, the worker sighs, giving into Woojin’s charms.

 

“Fine. Just make sure you leave right after, okay?” She says, voice soft and sympathetic. She then points them in the direction of the facilities and carries on with what she was doing.

 

Jihoon grabs Woojin by the hand and reluctantly leads him into the building. And the place is unlike anything Jihoon had ever seen before.

 

The area is complete with a front desk and a massive staircase that probably connects to the upper floors—which are mostly the entrances to the penthouses located above them. There’s a large chandelier connected to an ornate, shimmering roof, with carefully picked paintings adorning every wall. Everything is grand and even the carpet they’re walking on is stunning, carefully woven with an organic, intricate design.

 

They finally come across the bathroom and Woojin proudly says that he can go in by himself. So Jihoon lets him, but only after reminding him to wash his hands when he’s done.

 

He hears Woojin mutter _“Oh yeah, good idea…”_ before he disappears behind the door.

 

Jihoon rolls his eyes and leans up against a wall, digging his phone from his pocket and flipping through various gaming forums. Unfortunately, the internet connection up here blows. So with a sigh, he shoves his phone back into his pocket and impatiently begins to tap his foot.

 

Woojin takes a while for some reason, but he doesn’t really ponder on it because his attention is pulled elsewhere when he overhears a few workers speaking as they wait for an elevator.

 

“This is so unexpected… the Lai family showing up for their annual New Years banquet _weeks_ earlier than they normally do,” He says, voice strained with pent up stress.

 

“I know,” The second worker replies, equally stressed. “Did you hear that they rented out _every single room_ in this section for their business partners? We had to relocate a few people who were already here and they weren’t very happy about that…” He shivers.

 

Their voices, however, drown out when the elevator dings upon its arrival and the two workers step inside. Jihoon shrugs off their conversation, already forgetting it like it were just background noise. But he idly wonders what it’s like to have _that much money…_

 

He’s instantly yanked from his thoughts when Woojin tackles him.

 

“HYUNG! The soap in the bathroom smelled _soooo good!_ Like mint!” He exclaims.

 

“That’s cool, Woojin,” Jihoon replies absentmindedly, attaching the leash to his brother again. They then begin to head back outside.

 

They make it out of the building, thanking the lady who let them inside, and start to walk their way back down the slope. It’s quiet, until Woojin pipes up, voice a little weak and trembling ever so slightly.

 

“But, hyung?” He asks, tugging on his brother’s hand for his attention again.

 

Jihoon hums. “Yes?”

 

“The soap… it smelled like mint. But it’s so weird… it didn’t _taste_ like mint at all,” He groans, sticking out his tongue in disgust.

 

Jihoon pauses for a second. He almost says something—he’s _almost_ concerned. He looks at Woojin who seems relatively unaffected by all of this, other than gagging a little. So Jihoon shrugs it off… _hesitantly_.

 

He comforts himself, concluding that it’ll probably take a lot more than plain, old bar soap to kill Woojin. But he still keeps an eye out to see if the boy looks like he’ll vomit any time soon.

 

 

 

 

It takes about one more hour of Woojin sprinting through the resort and throwing himself into heaps of snow until he finally gets tired.

 

During this time, Jihoon finds that there are many things to do at the resort, glancing at a few bulletin boards that list events and activities set up for resort-goers of all ages.

 

But Jihoon ignores it. It’s not like he’ll be attending any of them because he still just wants to go home.

 

The two brothers find their way to the porch of their little cabin and easily get in with a swipe from their cards.

 

When they step through the door, Jihoon notices that his family has already unpacked and are comfortably making themselves at home in their new living space for the next few weeks.

 

Woojin immediately barrels towards the closest bed he can find and flings himself onto it, jumping up and down excitedly. It’s unlucky though, because the bed he chooses to trampoline on is the same bed that Daniel is laying on.

 

“WOOJIN! BE CAREFUL! YOU’LL HURT YOUR BROTHER!” His mother yells in panic.

 

Daniel, however, laughs and screeches as his little body is thrown into the air after one particularly hard jump from Woojin.

 

Woojin snickers at Daniel’s enthusiasm, jumping with increasing strength, which only stresses his mother out more.

 

Jihoon stares at the sight in exhaustion. He is done dealing with Woojin. So he drowns the sound of their voices out and takes a look around his prison for the rest of his stay at the resort.

 

The cabin is small—probably only a little bigger than a normal hotel room. It’s made out of dark logs, giving it a rustic, cozy feeling, which is only intensified by the room’s décor.

 

The place is set up like a house, complete with a living room with a television and a few couches, which his dad is currently seated on. Underneath the television is a fireplace, burning and crackling loudly with fresh wood. It emits a soft glow and a warm heat all throughout the cabin.

 

At another side of the room is a mini kitchen that holds a fridge, a few counters, drawers, and a four-person table. The four-person table makes sense, Jihoon thinks to himself, considering that this cabin was probably only made to house a maximum of _four_ people. He comes to this conclusion when he notices that there are only two beds. Both queen-sized.

 

He gets comfortable on one of these beds (not the one that Woojin is destroying) when Nayoung finally exits the bathroom in a puff of steam, mentioning that there was a Jacuzzi in there. Jihoon makes a mental note to try that out later, but as of now, he’s really tired. And still majorly upset that he’s stuck here in the first place.

 

Eventually, the entire Park family tires out from their long trip as well and they all head off to bed.

 

Nayoung and his mother share one bed and his dad takes the couch. That leaves Jihoon and his two little brothers to share the second bed, and, because of that, he’s only further proven how horrible this vacation is going to get.

 

Jihoon doesn’t go to sleep for another hour. He stares up at the wall with red eyes, devoid of life and meaning, squeezed between his two little brothers—Woojin on his right and Daniel on his left.

 

Woojin’s arm suddenly comes flying at him and lands forcefully across his neck. Jihoon chokes, eyes widening in shock and tearing up a little. He then feels Daniel gnawing at his shoulder, coating it in a thick layer of sticky drool.

 

Jihoon shifts around, desperately trying to get comfortable, but then he feels something poke at his back. With an annoyed grumble, he reaches for the object underneath him and pulls out Rooney. He sighs and places the stuffed animal in Daniel’s arms, the baby’s mouth moving from chewing on Jihoon’s shoulder to Rooney’s left ear.

 

Daniel babbles in his sleep and Woojin breathes hard and loud into Jihoon’s ear.

 

He closes his eyes and tries to remember a happier place—a place where he is in complete isolation and not in some stupid, high-class mountain resort. He imagines himself in his room, situated at his desk and playing video games on his PC with his hands stuffed halfway down a bag of chips, gaming and eating until he passes out from exhaustion.

 

With these wonderful thoughts, sleep eventually finds Jihoon, but not without one more solid kick to the stomach from Woojin, which only reminds him of where he actually is.

 

Jihoon groans in pain and whimpers.

 

_“I can’t wait for this vacation to be over…”_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Regarding recent news, I hope that with this fic, I was able to make u smile. I hope that some of u can find a little happiness from my poor attempts at jokes. I was going to hold off on posting this, but then I thought, that maybe some of u might be needing a funny fic right now. the loss of shinee’s jonghyun is tragic and when I heard the news, it really hit me hard. however, my feelings are, by far, nothing in comparison to the people who were close to jonghyun, and my deepest condolences rest with his family, friends, and loved ones. and on top of that, I hope that everyone in the kpop fandom is staying strong and, if u ever need someone to talk to, pls never hesitate to reach out to someone. I too will gladly listen to ur thoughts if u are looking for someone to speak with: https://curiouscat.me/coppercoin
> 
> In any event, sorry if this chapter was kinda boring RIP LOL… this was basically just me getting u guys familiar with the characters and trying to paint a mental picture of whaT THE FUCK THIS RESORT LOOKS LIKE LOLLL /SWEATS… hopefully I did an okay job at that? :’D LIKE if ur still confused, don’t be afraid to send me a message!!! I’ll try to explain it better & in more detail ? but I feel like as the story progresses, the environment will slowly start developing in ur head and ur ~*~imagination~*~ will fill in the gaps.
> 
> ABOUT THE CHARACTERS:  
> I created jihoon’s family and AFTERWARDS, assigned members to play them. I wanted jihoon’s siblings to consist of a crazy kid, a smol dumb baby, and a bitchy older sister :’D  
> woojin being the kid and neil being the baby were a given, but I didn’t know who to make his sister :( so I just chose my bias from ioi LOL it works tho cuz she’s known for her very serious face :’D I KNOW SHE DOESN’T ACT MEAN!!! I JUST NEEDED SOMEONE TO FILL THE ROLE!!!  
> and jihoon, so apparently… irl he LOVES playing PUBG?? (and so do other w1 members!!) and, dude… before I am a human, I am a Gamer. gaming is my fukin Passion OK. every night, before I go to bed, I eat a video game :( LIKE!! I WRITE MY FICS WATCHING VG STREAMS??? so when I heard that he played I was like “NO FUKCING WAY!!! I have to use that somehow” so... here we are lol
> 
> LOL sorry for the long notes ;;; I just wanted to explain my thought process before we DIVE INTO THIS!!! :D im super PUMPED to be sharing this story with u guys!!! I promise next chapter will be better! (plus guanlin will be there!!!! so GET HYPE and don’t give up on me yet LOLOL)  
> anyway, if there are any mistakes, pls tell me! :D LET ME KNOW WHAT U THINK TOO AND I’ll see u soon my friends B-) take care <3


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> MERRYYY FUCKING (LATE-ISH) CHRISTMAS!!! (or happy normal weekday to all u non-celebrators out there :D)
> 
> listen, aight. I was supposed to have this done way eariler, but then I got Very Overwhelmed. Because holy shit. u guys enjoyed that first chapter WAAAY MORE THAN I EXPECTED U ALL TO LMAO  
> LIKE!! u guys said the coolest shit about jihoon and guanlin that made me realize that the rest of my fic was gonna be GARBAGE in comparison to what u guys were probably expecting :’D SO basically, im reworking my entire outline right now :’D im keeping a lot of scenes but, dude, u guys r literally such geniuses whenever u leave comments LIKE ?? im so blown away. u guys r like, so inspiring !! u made me change so many aspects of all the characters/development/their dynamics. IRL I LOVE IT!  
> I have up to ch 3 finalized in my outline, but other than that, idk what’s happening. SO FROM HERE ON OUT THIS IS A TEAM EFFORT, BUDS LOL :’D WE’RE WRITING THIS FIC TOGETHER NOW  
> also btw this story is 100% NOT going to only be 5 chapters long. that chapter limit up there is a sham. all I do is lie about the length of all my fics and then go overboard until its not even the holiday season anymore. rip
> 
> anyway, sorry for the rant lol here’s the next chapter! I hope u like it! It's 9K words! MY PRESENT TO U <3 :D

 

If a person were to combine the horrible characteristics that were Stubbornness and Pride, that person would create none other than Jihoon himself.

 

Jihoon is the kind of person who won’t back down without a proper fight. He will defiantly go against _anything_ doesn’t want to do, and is highly competitive. And on top of that, he is also lazy. So, so very lazy.

 

With all these horrible characteristics and not-so-redeeming quality traits, Jihoon finds himself curled up in a ball, underneath his blankets, and watching endless gaming streams on his phone for the first four days of his vacation.

 

For four whole days, Jihoon doesn’t leave the cabin in an act of silent protest against this trip.

 

On the first day, his mom _begged_ him to come out with the family. But Jihoon stubbornly stayed put in their cabin, determined to have zero fun on this vacation to make a point: He wanted to go home. And there was no way anyone was going to be able to convince him to get out until it was _time_ to go home.

 

They eventually gave up on Jihoon and left him in bed. From then on, the entire family would go out every day, do whatever “fun thing” they had planned to do, and Jihoon would stay behind, watching lagging PUBG streams on his phone and shoveling bowls upon bowls of popcorn into his mouth by the handful.

 

Jihoon knows he’s acting like a brat and he _knows_ how extra he’s being. But he huffs, convincing himself that his defiance was absolutely justified. _That’s what his parents get for bringing him here in the first place_ —pulling him away from his computer and his endless amounts of winter-vacation-fun in the comfort of his bedroom.

 

Jihoon frowns. _The_ _audacity of some people_ …

 

The boy whines all high pitched and irritated when the stream he’s watching lags again. At this point, he just gives up, locking his phone and tossing it into the mess of his bed sheets. He tiredly runs his hands across his face and buries his face into a pillow. For such a high-end place, they sure had shit-ass internet connection up here.

 

With that, he turns onto his side and gets ready to take a nap. He thinks that maybe if he sleeps long enough, this vacation would fly by. And hopefully, by the time he wakes up, it’ll all be over and he’ll _finally_ get to go home.

 

Jihoon is about to drift off into the only place he knows happiness (his dreams), when suddenly the door bursts open and his family comes marching in, already back from their walk.

 

Jihoon pulls the blankets over his head and groans loudly when Woojin screeches at the top of his lungs and throws himself into the bed with Jihoon.

 

“HYUNG! HYUNG! HYUNG!” He shouts, chanting and bouncing up and down on JIhoon’s back, shaking his shoulders with every ‘ _hyung’_ that leaves his mouth.

 

Jihoon doesn’t move or make a sound. Maybe, if he pretended to be asleep, Woojin would give up and just leave him be. But he is absolutely 100% wrong because a few seconds later, Woojin’s lips are pressed right up to where his ear is from underneath the covers, and at the top of his lungs, he screams _“HYYUUUUUUUUUUUUNNNNGGGG—”_

 

And Jihoon actually cries. He feels his soul shatter and the little amount of mental stability he has left, crumble into dust. “What,” He murmurs brokenly, “What is it, Woojin.” He sobs, desperation and agony growing in his voice. “ _What do you want?”_

 

“Oh! You’re alive!” Woojin exclaims.

 

Jihoon nods, eyes closed and mouth drawn tight. “I sure am.”

 

Woojin ignores him and yanks the blankets from Jihoon’s face. Jihoon hisses once the light reaches his eyes, but his brother barely even cares. “Daddy said that we’re going skiing again! You should come with us!”

 

“And why would I do that?” He mutters tiredly.

 

“So you can watch me do cool tricks!”

 

Jihoon peeps his eyes open to look his brother and Woojin is grinning evilly. He quickly decides that he doesn’t really want to know what these ‘cool tricks’ actually are, and he’s about to refuse, but then his mother pipes up.

 

“He’s right, you should join us!”

 

Woojin finally barrels off of him and Jihoon immediately pulls the covers over his head again. “No,” He answers.

 

“You’ve been sitting here for the past _four_ days, Jihoon. This is getting ridiculous.”

 

Jihoon grumbles and slides even further down into his blanket coffin. “I don’t want to…”

 

In one sudden moment, his covers are yanked off and the cold air hits Jihoon like a bucket of ice water. He gasps and curls up, shivering under thin pajamas and grabbing for a corner of the sheets.

 

“You can’t just lay around and eat all vacation!”

 

 _“Watch me,”_ Jihoon hisses, finally managing to get a grip on his blankets and tugging them back.

 

She pulls harder. “We’re probably never going to get the chance to come back to a place like this again.”

 

“Good!”

 

His mom groans. “Please, Jihoon? Just this once?”

 

_“No.”_

 

And something snaps. The loving and caring mother that Jihoon knows suddenly dies and her eyes grow dark and cold. Her personality does a complete 180 and her voice lowers, “That’s it, young man. If you’re not changed in the next _five minutes_ , I’m taking your phone away.”

 

Jihoon’s eyes widen and he sits up.

 

She continues, “And when we get back, I’m confiscating the cables to your computer.”

 

Jihoon squints at her, pressing forward and sizing her up. He stares hard into her eyes, searching, trying to figure out if she’s actually serious. “You _wouldn’t,”_ He whispers challengingly.

 

“The clock’s ticking, honey,” She replies, voice sickeningly sweet. She then glances at the analog clock by his bedside. “And it looks like you have four and a half more minutes before that phone is mine.”

 

Jihoon glares at her, unblinking and seething with rage. There was absolutely no way in Hell he was _ever_ going to leave this cabin. They’d have to drag his cold, dead corpse by the ankles of his legs if they wanted to—

 

_“Three minutes.”_

 

Jihoon jumps out of his bed and scrambles towards the bathroom. He throws on a sweater, his blue coat, jeans, and turns to look at himself in the mirror. _Ew._

 

Jihoon’s hair is a tangled and messy from having not combed it in days, and his eyes are sunken in and dark.

 

He splashes water on his face and runs his hands through his hair a few times in hopes to somewhat fix himself up. He gives himself a once-over, and he still, ultimately looks like a wreck. But this is as good as it’s going to get with the amount of time he has left, so he just shoves a pink beanie over his head, and with that, he bursts out of the bathroom door.

 

Jihoon scrambles over and breathes in hard, frenzied breaths.

 

His mother smiles warmly at him. “Right on time! Let’s go, kids!”

 

The Park family trails out the door, but this time, with Jihoon in suit.

 

The boy takes one last look at the comfort of his bed—the only thing grounding him to this Earth right now—and with a shallow, mournful sigh, he steps out into the resort.

 

In one, devastating blow, misery hits him just as hard as the cold, morning air.

 

\---

 

Jihoon wants nothing more than to sink into the inner core of the Earth and burn when his mother suddenly stops the family, cheering, “Wait, wait, wait! Let’s take another picture!” in front of Nothing in Particular.

 

But _just in case he’s wrong_ , Jihoon turns around and sure enough, he’s absolutely right. There are only trees. And buildings. Actually, there are trees and a _singular_ building. With, of course, some snow.

 

Actually, this time, Jihoon notices that there’s a little squirrel in one of those said trees.

 

However, that alone doesn’t change the fact that the landscape is _barely_ any different than the last eight whole times she’s stopped everyone to take a group photo.

 

Nevertheless, his siblings obediently surround him, Nayoung on his left carrying a drooling Daniel, and Woojin at his feet, posing like a Power Ranger.

 

His mom lines up the picture, but after a second, she lowers the camera from her face. “Jihoon, at least _try_ to look excited. This picture is going to your grandparents.”

 

Jihoon sighs and reluctantly holds up a peace sign.

 

“Good enough!”

 

She snaps the photo.

 

Unfortunately, it doesn’t end there. For the entire rest of their trek up to the ski slopes, his mom insists that they stop every few feet to “capture the moment,” forcing everyone to huddle together and pose for a picture.

 

Unlike Jihoon, she is completely oblivious to the fact that people pass by them, shooting amused glances at the family.

 

Jihoon tries to hide his face under the folds of his scarf when a couple walks by, snickering and almost unnoticeably gesturing towards them. While this place was an exciting new adventure for the Park family, this was probably a normal vacation spot for the many rich people who visited every year.

 

It takes some time, but they finally make it to a sign that shows where the different slopes are located.

 

“Your mom and I are going to take Woojin and Daniel to the bunny slopes,” His dad says, starting to walk off with his brothers in hand. And Jihoon is about to follow too but then, his mom stops him.

 

“Ah, I don’t think so, young man,” She chides, clicking her tongue disapprovingly. “ _You’re_ going to the big slope with your sister.” She nudges him towards Nayoung.

 

Jihoon’s face drops and he whines, “ _But mom—”_

 

“Nope!” She interjects. “For the entire rest of the vacation, you are required to be outside for at least _ONE_ whole hour every day.”

 

Jihoon doesn’t like the sound of that. One hour every _single_ day? “BUT—”

 

 _“AND”_ She cuts him off again, “You are required to _try_ and have a little fun.” Jihoon is gaping at her in shock. He tries to protest, but his mom isn’t done yet. “It’s either that, or your phone. Make your choice.”

 

Jihoon huffs. And with one final glare, he grumbles, turning away and stomping after Nayoung.

 

“Good choice!”

 

 

 

 

Jihoon follows his sister, dragging his feet the entire way. It takes about ten minutes for them to finally reach what his parents call “the big slope.”

 

It’s then that he realizes that the word “big _”_ was a _big_ understatement.

 

This particular slope is _massive_. It’s length probably spanning longer than the entire resort itself. And on this slope are tons of people, dotting and scattered about the expanse of the snow like ants.

 

They walk to a cabin giving out free rental skis, complimentary to all people who actually stay at the resort. They get fitted with all the necessary equipment they need: skis, ski boots, ski poles, etc. etc.

 

Jihoon holds his skis and poles in his arms, turning them around in his hands and inspecting them with confusion. He looks over to his sister, who expertly puts on her skiing gear and stands up smoothly.

 

She glances at him and quirks a brow, wordlessly judging him and waiting.

 

Jihoon scrambles to follow what he _hopes_ he saw her do. He tries to recall her actions step by step—strap the skis to his boots? Then, uh… he thinks that maybe he buckles this thing down...?

 

Nayoung lets out a soft, ridiculing laugh.

 

…he unbuckles the thing.

 

It’s a process, but he finally gets all his equipment on—hopefully _properly_ —and he slides a pair of goggles over his eyes.

 

The brother and sister duo then find themselves riding up a ski lift, turned away from each other, unspeaking.

 

Jihoon settles on watching skiers glide down the gigantic slope with ease.

 

It looks intimidating. Not because Jihoon is afraid of heights, but because Jihoon has absolutely no idea how to ski. At all.

 

He has considered just turning around and going home, and his parents aren’t here to tell him otherwise, but he knows _for a fact_ that Nayoung would rat him out. So he’s basically stuck here.

 

 _Just one hour, Jihoon… One. Hour._ He mentally repeats to himself over and over again.

 

They slide off the ski lift and he slips after his sister, feet skidding out from underneath him. He tilts around and barely manages to stay upright while Nayoung gracefully pushes herself to the edge of the slope.

 

She turns to watch him impatiently, Jihoon reddening at the cheeks and trying to hang onto what little pride he has left. Which is, in truth, _very little_. And the very little he has left vanishes when he flops over and takes three whole minutes trying to pull himself up from off the ground.

 

Tons of people pass him by, looking at him with entertainment glistening in their eyes and giggling mutedly. This only adds to Jihoon’s growing mortification.

 

By the time he’s standing next to his sister, he wants nothing more than to just fling himself down the hill and roll to his cold, snowy death.

 

“Are you ready?” Nayoung suddenly asks.

 

“No.” Jihoon quickly replies.

 

She rolls her eyes and gets into position, preparing to take off without him.

 

He watches her in hidden disbelief, mouth hanging open slightly and a little offended. “How are you so good at skiing?” He whispers to himself. Unfortunately, his sister catches his question and she turns to him with a hand on her hip.

 

“Well, unlike _some_ lazy people, I’ve been practicing these past few days,” She replies with a hint of sass in her voice. A smirk blossoms across her lips and she continues, “And I’m just naturally good at everything.”

 

Jihoon frowns at her, which only makes Nayoung smile even harder.

 

“I’m not going to wait for you,” She announces. But Jihoon already knew that. “See you at the bottom little bro, that is, _if you make it.”_

 

Nayoung slips her goggles over her eyes, and with one, swift push, she gracefully flies down the hill, long brown hair flowing behind her—mocking him.

 

Jihoon is gripping onto his ski poles for dear life. He’s unstable, a little terrified, and, on top of that, 100% clueless about everything revolving around skiing. But that all means nothing to the competitive gamer in his soul, absolutely raging and infuriated by his sister’s challenging remark.

 

Jihoon’s eyebrow twitches and he tilts his head to the side, popping a kink out of his neck irritably. His heart is set aflame, pounding in his chest from both sheer fury _and_ the fact that the slope looks a lot steeper from this particular angle— _Oh, god._

 

But Jihoon shoves those thoughts into the back of his head. With determination and bullheaded stubbornness coursing through his veins, he slides his goggles over his eyes and pushes himself to the edge of the slope with unsteady arms.

 

He wants to close his eyes, but that’s probably not a good idea considering the amount of people that lie in front of him. So he doesn’t do that. Instead, he counts down from three, sucks in a breath, and without another second of hesitation, he thrusts his arms back.

 

And Jihoon slides for a total of two whole meters before he, expectedly, falls, ankles twisting awkwardly and rolling in a ball. Jihoon spits out snow and and shakes the flakes from his head and his jacket. He has a hard time straightening out his skis again and balancing on his feet, but once he gets back up, Jihoon tries again.

 

This time he keeps his ankles forward and lowers himself to the ground. While he still has a rough time skiing in a straight line, he’s at least finally getting somewhere now.

 

And a few stumbles with a trip later, Jihoon is steadily skiing. _Fast_. So fast, that he’s actually afraid to stop since the only way he knows _how_ to stop, is by falling.

 

He zips by people at an alarmingly high speed and suddenly, in flash, there’s a tall figure right in front of him.

 

A final thought drifts into Jihoon’s head, and he thinks to himself, that _this was it_. Things couldn’t get any worse than this.

 

Everything happens in slow motion. Jihoon tries to scream “WATCH OUT,” but only the first part of that statement actually leaves his mouth. He watches as the skier turns around, blissfully unaware of the horrible events that are about to ensue, and not even a second later, Jihoon crashes into him with a loud _BOOM_.

 

They roll down the hill in a heap, legs and arms tangling together. It’s a nasty, voilent fall—Jihoon feels his face collide hard into the boy’s chest and then they flip, bashing heads. This continues for a while, Jihoon only seeing flickers of white snow and the boy, spinning and spinning around him—making him dizzy and his whole body ache. Along the way, Jihoon hears something snap, and then another thing cracks. It’s at this time that he suddenly feels a horrible suffocating pain wracking throughout his body and he chokes on his breath.

 

They fall for a good thirty meters until the pair finally comes to an abrupt halt at the bottom of the slope.

 

Once Jihoon’s mind clears again, he finds himself in a peculiar position, with a mouthful of snow and fabric from the guy’s jacket.

 

He groans and rolls off the boy underneath him, falling lifelessly to his side and gazing upwards. His vision is blurring and the sky is far too bright for some reason—which is concerning since his ski goggles should tint out most of the light.

 

Jihoon spits out snow and he hears the boy shift next to him, grunting and pulling himself up into a sitting position.

 

Jihoon closes his eyes and prays for the ground to open up and swallow him whole. He’s reflecting on his life, trying to find his happy place, but it’s really hard to do so when his brain is hurting like this. He’s yanked from his thoughts when he hears a voice, deep and slightly accented, whisper, “You broke my ski pole.”

 

“You broke my face,” Jihoon retorts irritably.

 

The boy turns to look at Jihoon sprawled out on the ground next to him. His face is hidden behind goggles and a ski mask, so Jihoon can’t really make out the boy’s expression, but it probably isn’t a good one because he then responds, “I didn’t break your face, you’re the one who ran into me!”

 

“Well, _you’re_ the one who was standing in front of me—”

 

 _“I_ was minding my own business!”

 

“I was too!”

 

“Don’t you think you owe me an apology?”

 

“Not until I hear one from you!” Jihoon snaps back. He knows that he probably shouldn’t be taking out his pent up anger from his entire day. _On a stranger, no less_. But Jihoon really can’t help it right now. He’s angry and annoyed, not to mention his face _hurts_ like hell.

 

“You want _ME_ to apologize?” The boy asks incredulously, voice rising in volume now.

 

And Jihoon is about to go on a tangent. He’s about to unleash all the suppressed rage that has been bubbling up inside of him from the moment his parents even announced this vacation. He takes a deep breath in and opens his mouth to say something, but he’s quickly cut off when the boy mutters something.

 

“You’re bleeding.”

 

 _“—I’m what?”_ Jihoon asks sharply.

 

He ignores Jihoon’s tone. _“You’re bleeding,”_ He repeats.

 

Jihoon blinks curiously, voice soft and cautious now, realizing what the other had just said. “I’m… _bleeding?”_

 

The next thing he knows, there’s a gloved hand on his face, gently holding his chin and tilting his head so the boy can further inspect him. Jihoon doesn’t like the idea of being handled like this, _especially not in his current emotional state,_ but he doesn’t really get to protest because he then feels his goggles being slipped off with his beanie too.

 

Jihoon’s eyelids flutter shut painfully, eyes aching and slowly adjusting to the searing light. He hears the boy draw in a tight breath, definitely gazing at him, but expression still masked by his ski gear. He stares at him a bit longer than necessary, but Jihoon is too disorientated to even notice.

 

“Your nose is bleeding.” The boy says after a moment.

 

Jihoon hesitantly touches his fingers to his nose, and, sure enough, when he draws his hand away, there’s blood. _A lot of blood_. And upon seeing this blood, a sharp sting rushes through his skull again and he tilts back dangerously. But before he can hit the ground, the boy grabs him by the shoulders and steadies him into a sitting position again.

 

Suddenly, there’s a hand obscuring his vision and he hears the boy say, “Follow my finger.”

 

And Jihoon obediently does so. He silently watches the finger for a bit.

 

“Doesn’t look like you have a concussion,” He observes. “But you’re still bleeding. A lot.”

 

“Yippee,” Jihoon cheers sarcastically. He miserably looks down at his lap and notices that the snow underneath him has been splotched red, his clothes also wet with a similar color. And Jihoon is beyond mortified. He thinks about just lying here and drowning in a pool of his own blood. _Yeah, this is the worst._

 

“Can someone take you to the medical bay?” The boy suddenly asks, voice gentle this time.

 

Jihoon thinks for a bit, remembering that his parents are at a different slope at the end of the resort, and Nayoung is nowhere to be found. With a huff, he replies. “No. But it’s fine. I’ll be fine,” He mumbles, refusing to make eye any more contact with the person in front of him.

 

The boy stands up and Jihoon does too, but when he takes a step forward, his legs almost give out and he practically face plants into the ground again.

 

Jihoon frowns in embarrassment.

 

“I can’t let you go like this,” The boy insists, holding him tightly by the arm.

 

And Jihoon can’t even say no because the other is already dragging him away, having no choice but to follow. _Literally_. Because he absolutely has no idea how to stop his skis.

 

They get to the cement and the boy takes off his skis with ease. He motions for Jihoon to sit down, which he does, and then proceeds to help Jihoon out of his.

 

Jihoon watches him. He notes that he’s dressed really nicely, with a branded coat and branded gear. That only adds to the stress and mortification bubbling in Jihoon’s stomach. He wants to just disappear off the face of the planet at this point, but alas, that is impossible. So he’s forced to just accept the boy’s help, dignity and pride slipping from the cracks between his fingers.

 

It’s then that he suddenly realizes something. “How did you escape without a _single_ scratch,” Jihoon asks, voice muffled by his hand over his nose. “While _I’m_ over here, with the entire Red Sea pouring from my nostrils?”

 

He hears the boy snort from behind his ski mask as he shucks off Jihoon’s last ski. “Good karma maybe?”

 

Jihoon huffs and rolls his eyes. “Are you saying that I don't have good karma?”

 

"With the way you're acting?"

 

Jihoon glowers at him.

 

The boy then laughs at his reaction and Jihoon idly notes how charming it sounds. But his mind doesn’t linger on that realization for long because his nose still hurts and he’s still _very much_ annoyed by the entire situation.

 

Soon enough, he leads Jihoon to a small medical bay and finds no one present. They discover a sign that mentions that the nurse of this particular room is on break with detailed instructions on how to get to the next closest medical bay. But the boy ignores the sign and steps inside anyway, tugging Jihoon along.

 

He instructs Jihoon to sit down on one of the beds and then he begins to rummage through a few cabinets.

 

Jihoon takes this moment to draw his hand away from his nose and sees that his entire glove his soaked with blood. He groans because it’s messy and gross. He _feels_ messy and gross. Especially with the cold still biting and numbing the skin on his cheeks. He thinks that his nose might be running too now, which only increases the _yuckiness_ of this entire situation.

 

He feels the bed dip next to him, and then there’s a tissue in his line of sight.

 

Jihoon looks to his side and next to him is a view that makes Jihoon do a double-take.

 

Jihoon suddenly feels kind of dizzy again, either from the lack of blood or because the boy next to him is absolutely stunning. Sometime when he was away, the other had taken his ski mask off, now revealing features both round and sharp in all the right places. He looks almost regal in a way, dark hair falling right above his eyebrows with a clear and steady gaze—eyes a pool of rich, velvety brown.

 

While Jihoon is absolutely mesmerized, he is also very self-conscious now. He probably looks like a wreck with his red, wind-chapped face—blood and snot gushing from his nostrils and dripping down his chin. It’s then that Jihoon really regrets not brushing his hair this morning, and he’s reflecting on countless other regrets he has piling up in his brain. In this state of panic, he doesn’t quite catch what the boy suddenly says, so he asks in a quick breath, “What did you say?”

 

And in response, the boy grins smugly at him, as if he were _pleased_ by Jihoon’s reaction.

 

It’s then that Jihoon realizes that maybe he didn’t actually like this guy. All his initial feelings are flushed down the drain and he squints hard at the other, pursing his lips together in a thin, irritated line.

 

The boy laughs softly and Jihoon hates that he thinks his smile is cute. “Tilt your head forward,” He repeats, handing him the tissue again.

 

Jihoon snatches the tissue with a grumble and slouches forward, shoving it up into his nostrils.

 

Not only is Jihoon annoyed and slightly humiliated, he is now also extremely flustered and somewhat angry. Once the tissue in his nose is completely drenched in blood, he tosses it into a trashcan and the boy hands him another. Jihoon can sense the other's gaze on him, but he stubbornly ignores it, deciding to drown out the boy’s light-hearted concern with feelings of Rage.

 

They sit like this in silence. Side by side, the boy handing him tissue after tissue. It’s after the fourth bloodied tissue that the other suddenly decides to strike up a conversation.

 

“So,” He starts. “Is this your first time skiing?”

 

Jihoon pauses for a second, and turns to him slowly. “Is that really a question you’re asking me?”

 

The boy smirks, highly amused. “I mean, I thought I’d still ask—you know—just to be polite.”

 

Jihoon frowns, which only makes the other chuckle.

 

“For all I know, you could just be really bad,” He continues.

 

And Jihoon is about to retort with something, but the instant he opens his mouth, the boy’s phone goes off.

 

“Excuse me, I need to take this.” He stands up and walks away from the bed. He’s muttering and conversing in fluent Chinese, which, Jihoon observes, explains his accent.

 

The boy quickly hangs up after a few moments and turns to Jihoon. “Looks like I have to cut our meeting short.” He says. “I have to go, sorry.”

 

Jihoon nods.

 

The boy hands him the box of tissues and also a bottle of painkillers that he found. “You should probably wait for the nurse to come back,” He suggests, “Though, I don’t think your nose is broken. But I’m no professional.”

 

Jihoon nods again. The boy shoots him a warm smile. But before he can leave Jihoon swallows up his pride and sighs.

 

“Thanks,” He mutters.

 

The boy stops at the door and turns around.

 

“And sorry about… _you know.”_

 

The boy smiles again, pleasantly satisfied this time. “It’s no problem,” He replies. And with a brisk wave, he’s gone.

 

Jihoon sits there in a daze for a bit, when he suddenly gets a text from Nayoung.

 

She asks him if he’s walked home already but Jihoon tells her that he’s in the medical bay with a bloody nose. It’s a few minutes afterwards that she comes storming in, yelling about how he should have called her and how much trouble she could have gotten in if he had gotten seriously hurt.

 

The nurse eventually comes back too and takes a look at his nose. She tells him that he’ll be fine and that he’s lucky it was nothing too major.

 

But everything from then on happens in a blur. His mind is occupied with thoughts and hazy recollections—because for some stupid reason, Jihoon can’t stop thinking about a particular stranger.

 

\---

 

A few days pass and Jihoon doesn’t see the boy again. Eventually he stops thinking about him entirely because, _really_ , it’s pointless to do so.

 

During those next few days, his family ropes him into doing everything—from random activities set up around the resort, to even _more_ skiing, which Jihoon still is horrible at. He goes on the bunny slopes with Woojin instead, and, much to his dwindling pride, Woojin is beyond better than him at the sport. Which frustrates Jihoon to no end.

 

In addition, his mom is adamant about upholding the ‘Spending One Hour a Day Outside’ rule. So every day, Jihoon reluctantly goes out with his family, and after exactly one hour passes, he heads straight back to the cabin and curls up under the covers with his phone.

 

One particular evening, Nayoung announces that there’s going to be a party held in one of the community lodges. And apparently it’s open to all the young adults at the resort.

 

“That sounds like fun,” His mother replies with a hum, “You should take your brother.”

 

Upon hearing these words, Jihoon drops his phone onto his face in startled horror, nose exiting out of his PUBG stream in the process.

 

“No.” Jihoon and Nayoung reply in unison.

 

His mom tsks. “Jihoon, you still haven’t been out today,” She reminds him, voice ringing with disapproval.

 

“Please, anything but a party,” Jihoon begs, not wanting to be surrounded by large groups of people right now. “Can’t I skip one day?”

 

His mom glares at Jihoon. Well, not really at Jihoon—she glares at his phone and he clutches the item protectively to his chest, rising slowly from his bed and cautiously making his way to the bathroom, getting ready to change.

 

It’s then that he realizes, he doesn’t really know what to wear because One, he doesn’t really go to parties like this, and Two, he doesn’t really care about parties like this. The only thing he knows for certain is to not go looking like garbage, so he chooses out a cardigan and a semi-decent coat. He takes the time to run a comb through his hair and he brushes his teeth.

 

When he steps outside looking his Absolute Best, his sister glances him up and down.

 

“You’re going in that?”

 

Jihoon feels his nape burn. “I only have to stay for an hour.” He replies irritably, not wanting to admit that he actually thought he looked pretty good.

 

She shrugs at him. "Whatever."

 

They head up the hill and walk to one of the various community lodges. Once they get to the front door, they show their cards to one of the staff members, who approves of their residence at the resort and they are immediately granted access in.

 

The pair steps into the building and Jihoon’s eyes have no trouble adjusting to the light. It’s a dimly lit area, not much lighter than it was outside, framed with dark wooden walls and cozy, luxurious décor. There are a few fireplaces, roaring warmly and scattered about the place to accommodate for the size of the lodge. A few candles are too organized about the vicinity, some used as lights on the walls and some on top of coffee tables, surrounded by plush, velvety couches.

 

There are groups of people are standing around or sitting in these couches formed in familiar little parties and talking softly amongst each other. Their voices are barely heard over the hum of low, jazz music playing from a little band somewhere in the background of the party.

 

Everyone is dressed well, which Jihoon was expecting. But what he _wasn’t_ expecting was for everyone to be dressed _this_ well.

 

Jihoon suddenly regrets his stubborn decision to wear his blue and red striped cardigan over a wrinkled white collared shirt. For some reason, all the boys are wearing ironed dress shirts and sharp jackets to match. The ladies are mostly wearing elegant bar dresses under soft, long coats and matching shoes.

 

Jihoon feels like a human-highlighter amongst all these people and, while he loved wearing vibrant colors, he didn’t really enjoy it right now because all eyes were on him and Nayoung the instant they stepped in through the door.

 

Or rather, all eyes were on _him_ because Nayoung apparently had enough of a fashion sense to blend in.

 

She immediately decides that she doesn’t want to be associated with her brother and goes off to mingle elsewhere. Jihoon watches as she’s stopped and warmly welcomed by a large group of girls, who greet her like a close friend.

 

That leaves Jihoon alone. In the middle of this party. Nervous and now somewhat embarrassed. Red tints at his cheekbones and spreads to the tips of his ears. Jihoon bows his head awkwardly, refusing to meet the eyes of any of the partygoers, and promptly begins to find his way into a corner that looks safe.

 

As he passes by people, he can feel their stares on him. He feels more than out of place, and he doesn’t really know where to stand since most of the area is packed.

 

 _“Just one hour, Jihoon,”_ He murmurs under his breath. “Just stick it out for one hour, and then you can go back to the cabin.”

 

He shifts awkwardly from foot to foot, twisting his hands together and looking around nervously, biting his lip and rubbing his neck. It’s then that he sees a bar in the center of the room serving drinks—alcoholic and non-alcoholic alike. Jihoon thinks that maybe he’ll feel a bit less awkward if he had something in his hands to distract him, instead of just standing around here like a loser.

 

He quickly makes his way towards the bar and takes a look at the menu.

 

“Um… excuse me?” Jihoon asks in a small voice, immediately gaining the bar tender’s attention. He looks surprised to see someone like Jihoon, but nods in acknowledgement anyway, allowing for him to continue. “How much is a drink?”

 

Jihoon sees something soften in the bartender's eyes. “First one’s on the house,” He replies with a sympathetic, comforting smile.

 

Jihoon shoots him a grateful smile of his own, letting out a breath he didn’t know he was holding in. “Thank you.”

 

The man whips him up a drink of salted caramel eggnog topped with cream and a cookie poking out. It’s a beautiful drink that looks _delicious_ , tasting even better. Jihoon’s mouth is washed with smooth sweetness and a hint of saltiness, both flavors balancing each other out in a mix of milky goodness.

 

Jihoon graciously thanks the man again, telling him the drink is probably the best thing he’s ever tasted. He waves Jihoon off with a grin and wishes he’ll have a nice rest of his night at the party.

 

With that, Jihoon walks off, eggnog in hand and slurping the drink up delightedly as he paces around the lodge.

 

He doesn’t really know where he’s going, so he settles on just people-watching, taking in the scenery and the vibe of the place. He doesn’t remember how long he's walked for, mindlessly looking around everywhere _except_ for in front of him. He’s instantly punished for that, because, all of a sudden, he rams into a tall figure, eggnog flying out of his hands and drenching the poor, unexpected person in front of him with a loud _CRASH_.

 

Jihoon gasps, hands flying up to cover his mouth in shock. He’s about to apologize, but his eyes widen upon realizing who it is.

 

“Why do we keep running into each other? Literally.”

 

Jihoon is too overwhelmed to even reply. He senses eyes on them from all around the room and Jihoon feels like melting into the ground, sinking into the carpet in hopes to escape from the situation. He’s beyond mortified and he gapes, unable to form an apology, let alone a single word.

 

It’s the boy.

 

The same boy that Jihoon ran into at the ski slopes—except now he’s covered in eggnog and whipped cream.

 

Jihoon watches in muted horror as the boy shrugs his coat off. He catches the word _Burberry_ on the tag and his soul actually leaves his body, making him feel woozy and teetering on the verge of passing out.

 

“I liked this coat…” The boy murmurs, mildly upset.

 

Jihoon chokes, “I-I’m… _so, so sorry_ ” He whimpers, frantically trying to do something with his hands, like aid the boy or try to wipe the eggnog off or _something_. But he’s just frozen, face reddening and heating up by the second. He hears voices around them and Jihoon’s heart is hammering in his chest now. “I-I can wash it for you?” He suggests, voice cracking slightly.

 

The boy raises an eyebrow. “You can’t just _wash_ a coat like this.”

 

Jihoon feels his heart about to burst in his throat. The only other alternative solution to this problem is _paying_ for the item and it looks _expensive_. More expensive than Jihoon’s entire gaming set up, which took him five _years_ to save up for.

 

The panic must have been evident on his face because the boy then assures him quickly, “It’s fine, it’s fine. I’m just kidding. It’s only a coat.”

 

 _“Only a coat??”_ Jihoon whimpers.

 

“I mean, I’m not very attached to it,” He replies. But Jihoon still looks like he’s going to hurl so the boy proposes something. “Let’s just say… you owe me one.”

 

Jihoon freezes. He hesitantly looks at the boy and nervously fidgets with his hands. “What do you want? I don’t have anything.”

 

The boy pauses to think for a second. “How about… your name?”

 

Jihoon looks at him curiously. “It’s Park Jihoon,” He responds slowly. He stops for a moment before asking, “What’s yours?”

 

The boy looks shocked, blinking at him a few times and mouth hanging open slightly. “Wait… you don’t know what my name is?”

 

“Am I supposed to?” Jihoon asks. “Wait, did you mention it before? When we first met?”

 

The boy looks at him as if he’s trying to figure something out, so Jihoon just assumes that he has already introduced himself and anxiously begins to ramble.

 

“Okay, in my defense, I was losing _a lot_ of blood, and my face really hurt. Plus my ears will still kind of ringing the entire time we spoke, so if you did tell me your name, I probably didn’t catch it and—”

 

The boy shakes his head with an amused smile on his face. “No. Sorry. My mistake. I’m Lai Guanlin.”

 

Jihoon thinks that he might have heard the name before, but he dismisses it. “Oh, okay,” He says with a flustered nod.

 

They stand around for a bit and Jihoon feels the boy’s gaze on him, which makes him slightly uncomfortable. So he turns to look around, rocking on his heels and fiddling with his thumbs. Less people are staring now, but that still doesn’t change the fact that he’s burning with post-embarrassment.

 

“So… are we all good?” Jihoon asks after some time.

 

“I don’t think so,” He replies with a laugh.

 

“W-What do you mean??” Jihoon stammers, voiced pitched with confusion.

 

“You broke my ski pole, remember? That was expensive too. I think I deserve at least _one more_ favor,” Guanlin says with a teasing quirk in his lips.

 

Jihoon huffs and bites his lip nervously. “Fine. What do you want now?”

 

“Your time,” He simply replies.

 

“My _what?”_

 

“I want you to hang out with me at this party,” He elaborates.

 

Jihoon waves his hand. “I get that, but I mean, why?”

 

Guanlin shrugs and surveys the area, nonchalantly shoving his hands into his pockets. “You’re here alone, I’m here alone… so why not?”

 

Jihoon thinks for a second. He looks at the boy curiously, trying to figure out if there’s any underlying motive behind his words. But he ultimately concludes that Guanlin _seems_ safe, not to mention that Jihoon is stuck here for another thirty minutes. Maybe this guy can help him pass the time?

 

“Sure,” Jihoon nods after some deliberation, still warily inspecting the boy in front of him. Guanlin returns his reluctant gaze with a steady, watchful one. “Anyway, it’s not like I can say no.”

 

Guanlin smiles with a glint in his eye. _“Good.”_

 

He then motions with his hand and a man with an earpiece steps out from where Jihoon hadn’t seen him. Guanlin tells him something in Chinese and the man nods, taking Guanlin’s ruined coat and holding a hand out to Jihoon. Jihoon looks from him to Guanlin in confused shock, and Guanlin says, “Your drink.”

 

“O-Oh…” He stammers, handing the man his emptied glass.

 

The man nods curtly to Jihoon and turns to bow at Guanlin. He then walks off and Jihoon gapes after him, bending around to watch him leave. He wonders what that was all about, but then decides that it’s probably a normal thing? Or at least he _assumes_ that it is. He isn’t too sure. But he doesn’t get to think on it too much because Guanlin clears his throat.

 

“Something wrong?”

 

Jihoon raises a brow at him, and after some thought, he replies with a short and hesitant, “No.” But it sounds almost more like a question than an answer.

 

It’s a few moments afterwards when Jihoon comes back down from whatever daze he’s in. He turns to Guanlin and asks with a deep exhale, “ _So_ , are we just going to stand here or are you planning to do something with my oh-so valuable time?”

 

Guanlin smirks at him amusedly, gesturing for Jihoon to follow him with a tilt of his head.

 

He turns and leads Jihoon over to a few empty couches situated close to a window in the corner of the room. They sit on opposite sides of a glass coffee table, and on this particular table, Jihoon notices a display of small candy-canes. He immediately grabs for one and pops it into his mouth.

 

Jihoon groans delightedly at the soothing taste of peppermint and when he looks to Guanlin, he sees the boy staring at him questioningly, a light grin gracing his lips.

 

“What? It’s free, right? Who in their right mind would say no to free food?”

 

Guanlin shrugs. “I suppose,” He replies. But the amused grin doesn’t leave his face, which almost makes Jihoon nervous. But he brushes it off, deciding that maybe it wasn’t important.

 

They sit in silence for a bit and Jihoon starts to feel awkward sitting with the other like this. The black turtleneck that Guanlin is wearing looks slick and casually elegant in comparison to Jihoon’s vibrant, cozy attire. He starts to feel self-conscious again, so in hopes to distract himself, he turns to look out the window, candy cane still hanging from his mouth.

 

From this window, Jihoon can see parts of the resort lit up with Christmas lights, the rooftops covered in snow. He sees the mountain range disappear into the distance, and up in the sky is the moon, shimmering as brightly as the stars dotting the deep blue. He’s pulled from his thoughts when Guanlin gently clears his throat.

 

“I don’t think I’ve seen you at this resort before,” He finally says. “Is it your first time here?”

 

“Well, yeah,” Jihoon replies like it’s obvious. “My first _and_ probably my last.”

 

“How come?” He questions.

 

Jihoon blinks at him for a second. “Do I look like the kind of person who can afford to stay at a place like this? My family won a vacation here from work.”

 

“Ah.”

 

“Why? What about you?” Jihoon asks, more out of politeness than actual curiosity. He already knows the answer.

 

“I come around this time every year,” Guanlin confirms. “A lot of the same people do. It’s nice seeing a fresh face for once.” He ends with another unreadable grin.

 

“I see,” Jihoon hums thoughtfully, shoving another candy cane into his mouth. He balls the wrapper up and stuffs it into his pocket as Guanlin watches him do so. He looks a bit worried but Jihoon thinks that it’s better this way, than to leave the wrapper out on the table. Jihoon continues, chewing on the treat, “So, do you come here as a family tradition, or what?”

 

Guanlin shrugs, “Something like that—more or less.”

 

“That’s vague,” Jihoon quips, popping the candy cane out of his mouth.

 

Guanlin nods but doesn’t answer Jihoon’s question any further. “That’s enough about me though,” He says. “What about you?”

 

“What _about_ me?”

 

“Tell me about yourself, _Park Jihoon,”_ He elaborates, slowly enunciating every syllable of his name.

 

Jihoon thinks. “There’s not much to say,” He wonders, chewing on the end of his treat now. “I’m nineteen and in high school, I play video games in my spare time, watch gaming streams when I’m away from my PC…” He pauses. “…I’m an avid fan of sleeping and I’m quite the food enthusiast. And I’m still a little upset that your jacket ate my eggnog—the guy at the bar gave it to me for _free_. He was so nice…”

 

Guanlin’s eyes widen. “Wait, you’re nineteen?”

 

“Yeah?”

 

“I’m seventeen.”

 

Jihoon chokes on his candy cane. “What?” He coughs.

 

“I thought you were younger than me—”

 

And Jihoon, in respect, thought Guanlin was his age, if not older. But that doesn’t matter because Jihoon then squints sharply at the boy and asks, “Why would you think that I’m younger than you.”

 

“No reason,” Guanlin chirps. But a delighted, teasing smile is back on his face and Jihoon glares at him harder.

 

“Anyway, if you’re really that upset about your eggnog, I can just get you another.”

 

Jihoon sputters for a second. “Um, _no thanks_. It’s probably like, 20,000 won—which is kind of a rip off.”

 

Guanlin blinks confusedly at him. “So?”

 

“It’s fine,” Jihoon replies, saying instead, “I don’t think I want to be indebted to you any more than I already am.”

 

Guanlin laughs a little. “Why not? Aren’t you enjoying yourself?”

 

“ _Maybe_ , I don’t know yet.”

 

“You know, I could just make you pay for my jacket,” He teases.

 

Jihoon rolls his eyes and shakes his head, a grin forcing its way onto his features.

 

With that, the two of them end up talking for the rest of the night. Jihoon finds out that Guanlin, too, was forced to come to this party by his parents, saying something about how he needed to make more friends his age or _something_ along those lines.

 

Guanlin stays quiet for most of their time together, preferring to shoot Jihoon questions rather than answering Jihoon’s. So he doesn’t really find out too much about Guanlin, other than the fact that he is an only child, he is from Taiwan, and that his family runs a business—but the last one wasn’t really surprising. Every kid here was probably the heir to some form of business.

 

In the end, Jihoon still doesn’t really know if he likes Guanlin or not. Rather, he just doesn’t know what to make of him. The entire night he gazes steadily at Jihoon with that unreadable, slightly amused grin on his face—eyes glistening with a similar unreadable look. He listens carefully to what everything Jihoon has to say, like it’s important—paying no mind to their differences in social status or interests and only speaking when he wants to ask something else, or retort with some playful banter. Which Jihoon responds to in a similar fashion.

 

Jihoon is in the middle of saying something when, all of a sudden, a new man with an earpiece walks up to Guanlin and whispers something into his ear.

 

“Excuse me for a sec,” Guanlin politely motions to Jihoon before turning his full attention to the man behind him.

 

They converse in hushed Chinese, and although Jihoon doesn’t know what he’s saying, he figures that it must be something Guanlin doesn’t like, because after a bit, his mouth tightens into a line and he looks almost sad.

 

Jihoon sucks on his candy cane and listens as they seemingly argue for a bit before Guanlin sighs and nods, waving dismissively to the man who obediently steps back to give them space.

 

“Looks like I have to go,” Guanlin informs him.

 

Jihoon nods understandingly.

 

Guanlin stands and is immediately handed a new jacket that looks just as expensive as the one Jihoon ruined. Jihoon idly watches, twirling the candy cane in his mouth, as Guanlin slips the coat on.

 

He’s in the middle of straightening his collar and is now moving to fix the cuffs of his sleeves when Jihoon suddenly asks, “So, does this mean my debt is repaid?”

 

Guanlin turns his head to him and hums in thought. “We’ll see,” He replies with a sly grin. And before he goes, he stops to look back to Jihoon. “See you around?”

 

Jihoon smirks playfully. “ _We’ll see._ ”

 

He guesses that Guanlin likes that answer because he shoots Jihoon another grin, but this time Jihoon catches a dimple and his heart does something stupid in his chest. But he doesn’t really ponder on it, because instead, he distractedly watches Guanlin walk out the door—two men with earpieces following him in suit.

 

Jihoon takes a moment to reflect on their conversation and when he mindlessly glances at the clock, he realizes that almost three hours have passed. Jihoon chokes and bolts up from the couch. _What the fuck was he doing???_

 

Jihoon shrugs his coat back on, but before he leaves, he grabs a few more candy canes and shoves them into his pockets. Woojin and Daniel would probably want some, he thinks. And with that, he quickly strides out.

 

\---

 

Jihoon is in bed now, getting ready to sleep the stress from the party off.

 

Daniel and Woojin are still taking a bath with the help of his dad, so he comfortably sprawls out across their shared bed, phone in hand and watching an Overwatch stream. A stolen candy cane pokes out from his lips and he lazily lets it roll around in his mouth.

 

It’s about an hour after Jihoon came back when Nayoung finally steps into the cabin.

 

She walks in, and on her way to the closet, she stops by Jihoon’s bed and says, “Look who it is. You were _quite_ the talk of the party.”

 

Jihoon sits up and looks at her questioningly.

 

“Where did you get that candy cane?” Nayoung suddenly asks.

 

“The party?”

 

She pauses for a second, looking like she’s about to say something but ultimately decides that it’s not important right now. She instead continues, “So, how were you talking to Lai Guanlin?”

 

Jihoon raises a brow at her, because… _that’s odd_ , “How do you know his name?”

 

“Answer my question first.”

 

“Not until you answer mine.”

 

Nayoung rolls her eyes, not wanting to play this game. She snaps, “Look, if you spent _just_ as much time reading news articles online as you did playing video games on your PC, then you’d have the answer to your stupid question.”

 

Jihoon rolls his eyes back because there was no way in hell he was _ever_ going to pull up some dumb news site over a riveting game of PUBG. So he answers, “Whatever. I just… ran into him.”

 

“That can’t be it.”

 

“What more do you want to know?” Jihoon asks, voice rising in annoyance. “I literally ran into him. As in I bashed into him _twice_ —once at the ski slope and then, later, at the party. And I also spilled eggnog on his coat.”

 

She chokes and whispers, “You spilled eggnog on _Lai Guanlin?”_

 

“On his _COAT_ ,” Jihoon repeats loudly. Nayoung is still looking at Jihoon with shock, and he shrugs. “He said it was okay? And that he just wanted to talk.”

 

His sister then mutters something that Jihoon doesn’t quite catch or care about for that matter.

 

His mother pipes up from the other side of the cabin, “He sounds like a sweet boy, Jihoon. I’m glad you’re making friends. You should invite him over for dinner sometime if he was able to keep you out for more than an hour.”

 

“Absolutely not,” Jihoon and (for some reason) Nayoung respond together.

 

Jihoon turns back to watching his video game stream and, before Nayoung goes, she adds, “By the way, those candy canes were decoration. Just thought I’d let you know.”

 

She walks off and Jihoon rips the candy cane from his mouth, staring down at it in betrayal.

 

It’s then that he realizes that Guanlin had just _watched_ him eat all those candy canes without saying a _single_ thing to stop him. Just smiling that stupid, amused grin—Jihoon burns with mortified anger.

 

But that anger quickly dissipates because it’s not like he’ll ever be seeing Guanlin again.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> k listen, the fact that lin irl comes from a rich family is THE BEST THING TO ME and I’ve always wanted to write it /SCREAMS. also jihoon is a fashion disaster ([source]: various w1 members) so I must uphold to those Personality Traits lol
> 
> yo speaking of personality traits, im so used to writing the panwink dynamic as soft jeojang jihoon and precious baby guanlin who r dazzled and hopelessly in love with each other… THIS IS SUCH DIFFERENT ANGLE LOLLL  
> now that w1go season 2 is out, dorm jihoon is the only jihoon I care about and mischievous playful guanlin is a side of him I’ve always found fascinating. im trynna stay tru to the fact that panwink is still Very Interested and Dazzled by each other, but approaching it this way is so fun and new to me kajsdffjgudfj PANWINK HAS SUCH A GOOD DYNAMIC!!! IDK HOW TO SHUT UP someone irl slap me rn GOD I love being actually cringy for these soft boys.
> 
> anyway, as always, MUCH THANKS FOR READING <3 I’d love to hear ur thoughts, especially in these trying times, (and I'll proofread this again later lolol) but other than that, I’ll see u all next time :D
> 
> oH AND BTW!! I recently made a [curiouscat](https://curiouscat.me/coppercoin) !!! so, like, if u want to insult me anonymously rather than to my face (coward), then u can do so here :D OR! u can just be my friend and be the cool first person to send me a message!!!!!  
> (and if that’s not enough to convince u, thEN SEND ME A BDAY WISH ON THE 27TH!!! :D)


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> HEY GUYS! :D happy new year!! I hope u all had a blast and a wonderful first few days of 2018!
> 
> sorry for the late & short chapter!! ;_; the last two weeks of dec are always hectic for me… plus I caught a super bad cold so I’ve been feeling like absolute garbage LOLLL BUT! i powered through this last night, proofread it a few times, so hopefully this is good! (i'll look at it again later)  
> my cold still isn’t gone so the next chapter might be a bit delayed as well :( I’ll try to take better care of myself and eat something other than cheetos for once in my life ajLKSJSDfk LOL
> 
> ANYWAY, aside from my troubles and horrible tardiness! I hope u enjoy! :D

When Park Woojin woke up on this particular bright Monday morning, he didn’t expect to meet the living, breathing legend that is Godzilla in the flesh.

 

It was quite the turn of events, considering how normal his day had started out; Nayoung laid on the couch, long, polished nails clicking away at her cellphone. Jihoon slept in bed even though it was almost already noon. Daniel was carrying out his usual baby duties, like slobbering or rolling around on the floor.

 

But despite them all being in different states of distraction, everyone collectively snaps into full-blown attention when the Park parents announce, “Nayoung! Jihoon! We’re going out, so you two are on little-brother-duty for the day.”

 

Instantly upon hearing them, Jihoon pops up from under the covers and Nayoung drops her phone into her lap. They turn to each other from opposite sides of the room and yell in perfect unison, _“Dibs on Daniel”_ and then proceed to glare at each other.

 

Which is fair, Woojin considers after a moment of deliberation, _because Daniel is cute_.

 

But other than that, he really didn’t get it. All Daniel does is drool, laugh, and eat (Rooney). Woojin was _far_ more fun. _And_ just as cute. Heck—now that he really thinks about it—he’s everything that Daniel is and more.

 

Woojin huffs. “Grownups are weird…” He mutters to himself before shoving his red Power Ranger down his pants for safekeeping, securely tucking it into a space between his briefs.

 

He watches as his older siblings each hold a fist into the air.

 

“Winner decides,” Jihoon murmurs, narrowing his eyes at his sister challengingly.

 

Nayoung nods. “As usual.”

 

Then, at the same time, they chant, “Rock, Paper, Scissors!”

 

They both hold out rock.

 

“Rock, Paper, Scissors!”

 

Both scissors.

 

“Rock, Paper, Scissors!”

 

Nayoung holds out scissors again and Jihoon, paper.

 

Jihoon groans, flopping back down onto his bed in defeat, as Nayoung lets out a soft, taunting “ _Hah-hah!_ ”

 

“Behave for your brother, okay?” His mom says before pressing a little peck to Woojin’s cheek.

 

He grumbles in response and wipes the moist, loving kiss from his face, pouting furiously up at his mom. Woojin was really getting much too old for these kinds of kisses—especially at the mature, sophisticated age of six.

 

She pinches his nose for good measure and Woojin hisses. She smiles, then turns to Daniel and plants a soft smooch onto each of Daniel’s fluffy, pink cheeks. “You be good too, okay?”

 

Daniel giggles loudly in reply, and with that, they head out the door.

 

A few moments later, Nayoung also gets up, stating that she’ll be hanging out with a few of her new friends for the day.

 

Woojin watches as she gets changed into a nice coat, jeans, and then positions a soft beanie on top of her long, curled hair. Once she deems herself perfect in the mirror, she scoops Daniel up off the ground and too heads out the door.

 

Which leaves Woojin in this boring little cabin with his boring sleeping brother.

 

But his boring sleeping brother doesn’t get to sleep for much longer, because it’s then that Woojin decides that he wants to go outside as well. He hoists himself up into the bed and nudges at the lump of blankets he assumes is Jihoon.

 

“Hyuuuuuung, I’m bored,” Woojin whines.

 

He gets no response.

 

“HYUNG!!”

 

Still nothing.

 

With a growl of frustration, Woojin tears off the covers and gags at the sight he is presented with.

 

It’s known throughout the entire family that Jihoon is an absolute wreck when he sleeps. Woojin’s face scrunches up in disgust, staring at his brother with his pajama shirt ridden all the way up to his neck, proudly showing off every inch of skin on his little tummy. His hair is a mess and his mouth is hanging ajar with drool leaking from the corners. His hair is sticking up everywhere, looking like a bird’s nest after getting demolished by a tornado or something equally as tangled and chaotic. His arms and legs are spread wildly about and Woojin thinks that he also hears snoring.

 

Woojin sticks his tongue out. Honestly though, Jihoon wasn’t that bad. He’s seen worse (Nayoung).

 

In any event, Woojin is still determined to play outside, so with all his might and every ounce of his strength, he winds his hands back and promptly _SLAPS_ Jihoon’s exposed stomach as hard as he can.

 

Jihoon jumps up with a startled yelp and scrambles into a sitting position. “ _OW??”_ He yells in confused betrayal.

 

“Hyung, it’s time to play,” Woojin says, crossing his arms.

 

Jihoon wipes the slobber from his face and lifts up his shirt, finding his entire stomach a vibrant shade of red. He gasps in horror and pokes at the abused flesh, hissing loudly when it supposedly stings. _“OW?????”_ He repeats.

 

Woojin rolls his eyes. “Stop crying, hyung.”

 

But Jihoon ignores him and keeps poking at his stomach, whining and choking with tears brimming in his eyes.

 

Woojin watches the pitiful sight unfold before him, questioning how a strong person like him is actually related to a weakling like Jihoon _. “HYUNG!”_ He calls again, immediately getting his brother’s attention.

 

Jihoon blinks at him, eyes still glazed with sleep and full of hurt.

 

“It’s time to play!”

 

“No.”

 

“I’ll tell on you,” Woojin threatens.

 

And only a few minutes later, the brother duo finds themselves outside in full winter attire, ready to do whatever Woojin wanted— _but only for an hour,_ Jihoon’s voice echoes in his head.

 

 

 

Woojin is glad that he hid his child leash the immediate day after they arrived at the resort. He has fun flinging himself into different piles of snow and running around in circles, feeling the cool bite of the air and the gentle, winter breeze. His nose starts running but he barely even cares because being in the snow like this is so much fun!

 

He takes his blue Power Ranger from his jacket hood and immediately begins to reenact fighting scenes from the most previous episode of Power Rangers.

 

He screams and makes shooting noises, sprinting further and further along the resort as Jihoon frowns, trudging along, and not really trying to keep up with his hands shoved deep within his pockets.

 

Woojin likes to have fun, but he isn’t irresponsible. Every few minutes he turns around to make sure Jihoon is still behind him and when he catches the dead-eyed, miserable, blank stare of his elder brother, he continues with his fun and adventures around the area.

 

It’s a handful of minutes afterwards when Woojin suddenly freezes. His grip on the Power Ranger in his hand begins to tremble and he feels a painful, squeezing sensation in his lower abdomen that lights a fire in his stomach, sending waves of electricity coursing all throughout his body and prickling at his skin. His heart begins to race and he breaks out into a cold sweat. In his brain he hears the ringing sound of sirens go off, signifying that, indeed, _it was time_.

 

Jihoon finally makes his way to Woojin, breathing hard, and the younger boy immediately locks eyes with his brother. With urgency dripping in his voice, he firmly states, “I have to pee.”

 

“Then go pee,” Jihoon responds in annoyance, still trying to catch his breath.

 

“Right here?” Woojin asks excitedly.

 

“No.”

 

Woojin grumbles and kicks at the ground. One day he’ll pee out here. And when that day comes, he’ll finally have a taste of the legendary yellow snow that all of his classmates have been dreaming of tasting since their very births.

 

He promised them—like a leader to his men, _a general to his soldiers_ — **VOWING** to them, that he’d only make his return once he has had a _lick_ of the sweet, fabled nectar that is Yellow Snow.

 

After days of careful observation and countless hours of trying to persuade every adult for just a _morsel_ of the snack, he has ultimately concluded that they were all trying to keep the icy treat to themselves— _like most greedy adults would_. So for now, they can keep their yellow snow, but soon, Woojin was going to have his taste.

 

Next time. _Next time for sure_.

 

Jihoon grabs Woojin by the hand and quickly drags him to a map of the resort. After staring at it for a few moments, he figures out where the nearest bathroom is located and they begin to make their way towards it. Apparently, it’s in one of the nicer community lodges, open to all during the day.

 

But even though that was the case, _strangely enough_ , the area was mostly empty.

 

Jihoon leads him to the bathroom and once familiar a set of stick figures come into view, Woojin detaches from his elder brother.

 

“I can go by myself!” He claims proudly.

 

“Okay, I’ll just… be out here when you’re done.” Jihoon murmurs, already digging his phone out of his pocket and leaning up against an adjacent wall. Woojin shoots him a thumbs-up for support, which Jihoon half-heartedly replies to, and with that, Woojin walks into the bathroom.

 

When he swings the door open, he’s instantly greeted with the sound of rustling fabric followed by the melodious purr of someone unzipping their pants.

 

Once Woojin turns the corner, his mouth drops open in shock. He gasps and his eyes widen at the sight.

 

There, in front of him, using the farthest urinal in the corner, is a man. The _tallest_ man Woojin has ever seen in the entire world.

 

“Woooaahhh,” He exhales in awe, cautiously making his way towards the other.

 

The man still hasn’t noticed him yet, which allows the small boy to take his time and observe him. He carefully steps towards the other, and gapes at how much taller he is up close. He’s so amazed, that he’s completely forgotten that he has to pee.

 

“WOW, MISTER, YOU’RE SUPER TALL!” Woojin shouts, voice booming and bouncing off the bathroom walls.

 

He must have said it a lot louder than he anticipated, because right when the words leave his mouth, the man jumps violently, startled, and he stares down at Woojin with wide, terrified eyes.

 

But Woojin doesn’t notice the look that the man gives him. Instead he’s marveling at the fact that the man totally just jumped at least one entire meter into the air and he _still_ managed to keep peeing _inside the urinal!!_

 

“Wooaaah,” Woojin whistles, a large beaming smile spreading across his face. He turns to look to look at the man, giving him an approving nod. “You’ve got incredible aim! That’s something I can barely even do just standing!” He explains.

 

The man suddenly looks uncomfortable. He looks as if he’s trying to come up with something to say, but Woojin waves him off. He understands the man’s state of utter speechlessness.

 

“No need to thank me,” Woojin says with a casual shrug, unzipping his own pants. “I enjoy giving compliments! My mom says that compliments make people happy, and I think you really deserve one.” When he pulls down his underwear, his red Power Ranger comes tumbling out and it falls into his urinal. “Oh! I totally forgot I put that in there,” Woojin mumbles thoughtfully before shoving the toy into his hood next to his blue Ranger.

 

The man is still staring at him, face frozen in a complete mixture of disgust, disbelief, and shock. But there’s no time for that now, Woojin has more important things he needs to take care of. Once he’s all ready and situated, the little boy aims and fires, sighing loudly in content once the aching pain in his bladder turns into nothing but warm, satisfying comfort.

 

They continue to whiz together and Woojin keeps his gaze trained on the man now. The man tries to look away, face reddening, _as if he’s trying to hide something_ , Woojin thinks—which makes the little boy grow a teeny bit suspicious.

 

“Hmm…” Woojin mumbles, still peeing but now staring hard and concentrated at the man right next to him. Woojin thinks that he sees a drop of sweat trickle down the side of the tall guy’s face and he mutters, “Say mister… you look familiar.”

 

The guy clears his throat, but other than that, he refuses to make eye contact with Woojin. His gaze securely fixed on the wall in front of him and he continues—or at least he _tries_ to continue—peeing. And it’s then that Woojin realizes something.

 

“You’re name…” Woojin inhales, “I know it! It’s at the tip of my tongue…” The little boy furrows his brows in deep thought and whimpers, “G-… G-…”

 

The guy flinches—as if Woojin is onto something.

 

“G—” He gasps. “GODZILLA!”

 

This time, the man finally answers and his voice is deep, just like the real monster, “ _What?_ ”

 

“GODZILLA! You know, like the big, cool dinosaur! You’re exactly his height! _Wow_ , you’re even taller in person!!”

 

The guy is staring down at him with confusion now. Like Woojin is stupid or something. But Woojin knows better, and this man cannot hide his _true_ identity from a mastermind such as himself.

 

“It’s an honor to meet you,” Woojin smiles proudly up at him, zipping up his pants and holding a hand out for the man to shake. “I’m Woojin, a big fan!”

 

The man looks between Woojin and his small, extended hand—back and forth—with a scared look on his face. His bottom lip quivers as if he really doesn’t want to be shaking Woojin’s hand right now—maybe since his fly is still down or _something_ —but that thought doesn’t even occur to Woojin.

 

 _He_ thinks, that the man is probably just shy! So Woojin grins harder and offers his hand again, trying to seem a bit friendlier with the radiant smile plastered to his face.

 

“U-Uh… Right,” The man stammers. He mechanically turns away and quickly zips up his pants. He then brushes his fists on his pants a few times before finally turning around to reluctantly shake the little boy’s hand.

 

They then head over to the sinks. “You know, I think my brother would like to meet you, Godzilla—”

 

“Ah, I’m not Godzi—”

 

“—He likes all those monster movies too, which is weird because monster movies are cool and my brother isn’t very cool,” Woojin rambles. “All he does is sleep, eat, play video games, and then sleep again—”

 

Woojin talks on and on, but only comes to a stop after a few moments when Godzilla crouches down next to him and quizzically looks him in the eye. “How old are you?”

 

“Six!” Woojin replies, holding up eight fingers.

 

“Where are your parents?”

 

“They’re off doing adult stuff, but my brother—the lazy one I was telling you about—he’s outside!”

 

“Has your brother ever taught you about the unwritten rules of the men’s bathroom?”

 

“The what?”

 

Godzilla sighs and bites his lip anxiously—probably pondering on whether or not it’d even be worth it to explain these rules to a kid he doesn’t even know. Nevertheless, the man surveys the area for a bit, making sure no one is around, and then turns his attention to Woojin again.

 

“Okay, there are seven of these very important rules, but I’m only going to teach you three right now, so listen very closely,” Godzilla explains, holding up an amount of fingers for each respective number.

 

Woojin gasps. “OOOH, are they like rules to a game?”

 

The man shakes his head. “More important than that. These are rules to life—rules that all men like us should know. You especially.” He pokes Woojin in the chest for added affect and Woojin’s eyes widen.

 

He breathes, “No way…”

 

“It’s true,” Godzilla nods in affirmation. “Okay, rule number one, never choose a urinal next to a man who is already peeing.”

 

Woojin nods eagerly, eyes sparkling with rapt interest and leaning in with every word that leaves Godzilla’s mouth.

 

“Rule number two,” The man holds up two fingers this time, “No talking. Ever. Just do your business, wash your hands, and leave.”

 

Woojin nods again.

 

“And rule number three: keep your eyes forward at _all times_. Never look at another man when he is peeing—not in the eyes, not in chest, and _especially_ not where his privates are located.”

 

The younger boy pauses for a second, slowly recalling every single rule in his head, and it’s then that he realizes “Woah! I broke all of those!”

 

“You sure did,” The guy whispers, voice flat and distant. He loses himself in his memories for a second, staring blankly into the space in front of him, before he turns back to Woojin. “But I’ll let it slide,” He says, “Just make sure you remember these rules so you never do it again.”

 

“Got it!” Woojin replies confidently, already forgetting what the man just said.

 

He nods and goes back to washing his hands.

 

Woojin grabs for a paper towel and wipes his hands off, but before he leaves he calls, “Thanks Godzilla! I’ll miss you!” He waves goodbye with a cheery smile on his face. “And don’t eat the soap, it smells good but it tastes awful—”

 

The man looks at him with confusion, eyebrows furrowing with thousands of questions flooding into his brain, but once he snaps back from his daze he shouts, “Wait, my name is Guan—”

 

Woojin slams the bathroom door behind him.

 

When the six-year-old steps out into the lodge again, he easily finds Jihoon still in the same spot, leaning up against the wall with his phone in his hand.

 

“HYUNG HYUNG!” Woojin yells, bolting over to him.

 

Jihoon jolts and almost drops his phone. “ _Shhh_ , quiet down, Woojin—” He says, nervously looking around, face reddening at the attention that Woojin has drawn.

 

But Woojin barely cares. He has to tell his brother about the man he met in the bathroom.

 

“Hyung! I just met the tallest guy in the world!!” He exclaims.

 

“Your shoe is untied,” Jihoon mumbles, uninterested. He bends down and motions for Woojin to place his foot on his knee.

 

“You’re not listening, hyung!!!” Woojin whines, holding onto a tuft of Jihoon’s hair for balance. “He was super cool! And really smart!”

 

The elder boy hums distractedly, already working at the other boy’s shoelaces. “Oh really…”

 

“Uh-huh!!”

 

“What was his name?” Jihoon humors him.

 

“GODZILLA!”

 

Jihoon snorts, “Like the monster?”

 

“Yup!”

 

Woojin hears his brother murmur something about everyone at this resort being a monster, but he doesn’t fully notice because he suddenly hears the bathroom door open and out steps the guy.

 

“Oh! There he is!” Woojin squeals excitedly, tapping on his brother’s head. “HEY THERE, MISTER!!” He calls, waving his arm around.

 

The boy stops in his tracks and turns to look at Woojin. Woojin waves elatedly at the other, but the boy’s gaze is fixed on him for only a second. Immediately afterwards, his attention shifts slightly to the left, and his eyes widen, mouth parting in wordless shock.

 

It’s then that Woojin feels the hands working at his shoes come to a halt as well, untied laces falling back onto the ground. Woojin turns to his brother and he, too, has a similar look on his face.

 

He glances between the two for a few moments, both at a standstill as if someone hit the pause button on them. When he moves to look back at the taller boy, he then catches a fond smile on his face, posture relaxing and lifting his hand in a subtle ‘hello’.

 

 _“Guanlin…?”_ He hears Jihoon breathe. His voice is barely audible, but the astonishment that is laced in it catches Woojin’s attention.

 

He whips his head back to look at his brother. That name… he’s heard it somewhere before, he thinks.

 

But Woojin doesn’t get the time to figure it out because the next thing he knows, his brother’s face warps into a straight up scowl and he growls, deep and feral, _“Guanlin…”_

 

In one moment, Woojin was getting his shoes tied. Then in the next moment, he was getting yanked by the arm by none other than his older brother, and dragged towards this ‘Guanlin’ (not Godzilla) guy.

 

“Hi, Jihoon, it’s nice to see you aga—”

 

Jihoon smacks the guy on the arm with a loud, resounding _SLAP!_

 

“ _OW_ —WHAT WAS THAT FOR??” He gasps, holding his arm in pain.

 

“You know what that was for,” Jihoon hisses, standing on his tippy-toes to reach eye-level with the boy in front of him.

 

Guanlin blinks in confusion for a second, but as if a light blub went off in his head, his expression completely flips and a smug smile spreads across his features. “I don’t think I do, mind telling me?” He asks, playfully challenging the other—egging him on to see if he really had the guts to confess the reason for his sudden act of violence.

 

Jihoon’s face lights up red like a Christmas tree and he grits his teeth before shoving his finger hard into the taller boy’s chest. “ _You let me eat all those candy-canes…”_ He snarls under his breath—voice quiet, but not quiet enough.

 

Guanlin breaks out into a wide grin upon hearing him and he laughs, “Ah, _right_.”

 

But Jihoon doesn’t back down. They stare at each other for a few solid moments, unblinking and unmoving.

 

Woojin notes how calm the taller boy’s gaze is while Jihoon’s pupils tremble just the slightest.

 

It’s then that he notices something else in the other’s gaze—something that Woojin realizes that he’s seen somewhere else… but he can’t remember where. All he knows is that, the other boy looks pleased. Like, as if—Woojin pauses to think, allowing himself the time to carefully line the pieces together in his brain— _as if_ he were really happy to be seeing his brother right now.

 

Guanlin finally gives in and blinks—allowing Jihoon to win their little staring contest—and then decides to strike up a conversation instead. “So… he’s your brother?”

 

Jihoon turns to Woojin. “Yeah.”

 

“I had a very lovely conversation with him in the bathroom…”

 

Jihoon freezes up before he groans in embarrassment. “God, what did Woojin say?”

 

Guanlin purses his lips, trying to suppress a smile, and he asks, “Did you ever teach him the unwritten laws of the men’s bathroom?”

 

 _“YES!”_ Jihoon’s cheeks burn in mortification.

 

That’s a lie. Woojin knows for a fact that he’s never heard these rules before—

 

“But he just has terrible memory!!”

 

Oh.

 

“Wh-What did he do?” Jihoon stammers.

 

Guanlin clears his throat and adjusts his collar nervously. “Uh… let’s leave it at; that was probably the most awkward piss I’ve ever taken.”

 

Jihoon looks like he wants to die.

 

 _“I watched a power ranger fall out of his pants…”_ The taller boy breathes in disbelief.

 

“ _OKAY_ , I get it,” Jihoon interjects, refusing to look at the other. “Woojin, apologize to Guanlin right now.”

 

And Woojin was about to. _He really was_. But it’s then at that very moment that something clicks in his head and he remember something—the thing that’s been at the tip of his tongue the entire last few minutes. “WAIT! You’re not Godzilla! You’re Guanlin!! Guanlin from the—”

 

But then there’s a hand over his mouth and Guanlin turns to Jihoon. “I’m taking your brother for a bit,” He smiles.

 

“Wh-What? Why? You can’t just take my brother?”

 

“Why not?”

 

“BECAUSE HE’S MY BROTHER?”

 

Guanlin rolls his eyes, “It’s just going to be for a second.”

 

“What are you going to talk to him about?”

 

“Something that’s going to stay between _me_ and _him_ ,” Guanlin explains, “A man to man conversation—”

 

“Didn’t you say you were seventeen—Woojin’s only six—what kind of “manly” conversation could you two possibly be having…”

 

But before Jihoon can finish, Guanlin is already whisking the younger away to a space that he deems far enough to be out of Jihoon’s immediate earshot.

 

He crouches down to Woojin’s height then removes his hand from the boy’s mouth.

 

 _“You’re Guanlin!”_ Woojin gasps.

 

“Yes I am—”

 

“From the Pie family!”

 

“—wait, what”

 

“Wow, I love pie…” Woojin mutters thoughtfully.

 

“… You mean Lai?”

 

Woojin ignores him. “You guys gave me and all my classmates toys for Christmas!” He explains. “I got a Lego set!”

 

Guanlin blinks for a few moments before he smiles sincerely at him. “You go to one of the schools from the charity project?”

 

“Chair-it-ee?”

 

“Never mind.”

 

Wooin decides that this guy is probably ten thousand times cooler than Godzilla. He loves the Lego set he got! Godzilla would never give him toys like that…

 

He wants to tell the man what he’s done with the Lego set, but it’s then that he catches Guanlin’s gaze fixated on Jihoon again for some reason. So Woojin turns his head too.

 

Jihoon is back on his phone again, scowling down at the screen and nervously glancing around at anyone who passes him by. Woojin really doesn’t get what’s so cool about looking at his brother, he’s lame and boring, and grouchy a lot of the time—but Guanlin sure seems to enjoy doing it. Because he does it… _A lot._

 

“Say, Woojin, do you wanna make a deal with me?” Guanlin suddenly asks, forcing his eyes back to the younger boy.

 

“A deal? What kind?”

 

“I need you to help me with something, so listen closely,” He whispers, voice pitched in a way to make the situation seem urgent—and Woojin 100% falls for it.

 

He bends in closer so that Guanlin can talk into his ear.

 

“I need you to tell me a few things about your brother.”

 

“What do you want to know?” Woojin asks curiously. He then stops to consider what this guy could possibly want to know about Jihoon—what kind of information a guy like him was probably looking for. Guanlin looks like he’s about to say something, but it’s then that it occurs to Woojin and he whispers into the other’s ear, “Hyung has the nastiest farts and he dances around the house with only his underwear on when he thinks that no one is home.”

 

What Guanlin was about to say instantly dies in his throat and he snorts. He actually has to look away in order to compose himself again and after about a minute of muffled laughter, he turns back to Woojin with tears in his eyes. “That’s good information, but it’s not really what I’m looking for. I’ll keep that in mind though.” He then pauses thoughtfully before he continues, “Here’s the deal, I’ll buy you a toy at any of the stores here, and you just have to help me out whenever I need it. Deal?”

 

Woojin hums. “Make it… two toys.”

 

Guanlin squints. “One toy and an ice cream.”

 

“Two toys or the deal is toast!” Woojin exclaims.

 

“You press a hard bargain,” Guanlin murmurs, but Woojin doesn’t waver. “Fine, deal—but no telling your brother, okay?”

 

“Deal.” He says, before spitting in his hand and holding it out for Guanlin to shake.

 

But instead of shaking it, Guanlin stares down at the hand with horror and looks up to Woojin questioningly.

 

“You only spit for important deals,” Woojin explains like it’s obvious, “And this is important.”

 

Guanlin gulps. He hesitantly looks around to see if anyone is watching, and when he finds that no one is, he timidly spits into his hand and shakes Woojin’s—fingers trembling before quickly detaching and wiping them onto his pant leg.

 

After a few more moments of discussion, they walk back and Jihoon’s attention snaps up from his phone.

 

“What did you guys talk about?”

 

“It’s a secret!” Woojin chirps, smiling at Guanlin who nods proudly at the other.

 

Jihoon looks down at his brother in betrayed shock and he glares up at smug Guanlin. “What did you tell my brother?” He growls.

 

And, in response, Guanlin only shrugs, repeating what Woojin had said. “It’s a secret!”

 

Jihoon definitely doesn’t like that answer.

 

“Anyway, I owe him a few things, so let’s go,” Guanlin declares before taking Woojin by the hand and leading him away.

 

Woojin has a hard time keeping up with the brisk strides of the taller boy—but Jihoon isn’t having it any better.

 

He runs after them, cowering under all the stares from curious bystanders, and whispers sharply, “Hey! What do you think you’re doing?”

 

“I promised him toys!”

 

“What for?”

 

“The secret!”

 

Jihoon thinks for a moment before he realizes, “Did you really just bribe a six-year-old?”

 

“Something like that,” He chuckles.

 

Jihoon frowns.

 

They head out of the lodge and into the main square of the resort. They pass by rows of stores that Guanlin expertly navigates through, and Jihoon continues to trail behind them.

 

When they finally reach their destination, Woojin immediately barrels inside, leaving Jihoon and Guanlin to themselves. He doesn’t hear the rest of their conversation—being too excited about the walls and walls of toys in front of him—but Guanlin says something that makes Jihoon’s face turn pink and he scowls up at the other, retorting with something back.

 

However, their conversation is nothing but noise to Woojin’s ears. He’s on a mission to choose _two_ toys!

 

He hums in thought. Woojin already knows what he wants, but “What should I get for Daniel…” He wonders, pacing through the first isle of items.

 

 

* * *

 

 

Nayoung sits on a leather couch situated by a large window on the third story to one of the many community lodges at the resort. She peers down at the store neighboring this particular lodge, and, from the corner of her eye, watches her brother and Lai Guanlin as they bicker, disappearing into the building together.

 

A few thoughts run through her head before she quickly turns her attention away to find Daniel where she left him; surrounded by some of the girls that she had met from the party last night.

 

“Aww! He’s so cute!”

 

“He’s so handsome!”

 

“So charming!”

 

“I want to keep him!”

 

Their light giggles fill the room as they pass Daniel between each other—the baby laughing with them and screaming with joy over all of the attention. They coo at him and tickle his soft tummy, which sends him into a fit of giggles and hiccups.

 

“Aww! He has such a handsome smile, look at him!” One of the girls gush as Daniel, on cue, bursts into a wide two-toothed grin with drool dribbling down his chin. And all of them sigh in unison—one of them even pressing a kiss to Daniel’s red, poofy cheek.

 

Nayoung smiles fondly at the girls and nods, but her attention is pulled back towards the window when she sees that her brothers and Guanlin had exited out of the store.

 

Woojin launches out with a plastic sled and what looks to be… a canon?

 

She doesn’t know, and, frankly, she doesn’t care.

 

But she’s proven right anyway when Woojin scoops a big pile of snow into the mechanism and then fires it at Jihoon.

 

However, the hunk of snow misses Jihoon and hits Guanlin instead.

 

Nayoung gasps in muted horror and bites at her nail at the same time Jihoon jumps and frantically starts wiping at the other’s jacket, an endless string of apologies falling from his lips. But Guanlin laughs and looks like he doesn’t mind. However, that doesn’t stop Jihoon from turning red, nervously unaware that there are people glancing at them now.

 

“Is that your brother? From the party?” A voice suddenly chimes in next to her.

 

Nayoung turns and she recognizes Jieqiong—one of the girls she’s grown the closest to at the resort.

 

“Yeah,” She softly affirms after a short pause. She then turns to look at the pair, who watch Woojin mess around in the snow. They talk amongst each other—Lai Guanlin saying something that makes Jihoon lightly hit the other on the arm in annoyance.

 

“He should watch out if he’s going to be hanging out with Guanlin like that,” Jieqiong mentions. “Not many people here are as nice as us.” She motions to the other girls behind them, still playing with Daniel as if he were their own—as if he weren’t the baby to some low-class family who didn’t belong here at all.

 

Nayoung nods silently, knowing that a lot of them only really accepted her because she held herself together confidently—with the same amount of pride and esteem as the other people at this place. She disguises and presents herself well, unlike Jihoon—who is a bit more shy and careless than most.

 

“He’s so stupid,” She mutters under her breath. “I don’t even think he knows who he’s talking to.”

 

Jieqiong laughs a little. “I’m just surprised that Guanlin is even talking to him,” She adds. Jieqiong has mentioned before that her family is closely acquainted with the Lai’s—them too being here for their annual New Years banquet. “It’s funny though; your brother doesn’t even seem like he _wants_ to be with him,” She continues lightly.

 

Nayoung hums in reply, still lost in thought. She stares down at Jihoon and watches him—reading into his every action and reaction, mentally taking note. Despite the glare on Jihoon’s face, she could tell that he was actually enjoying himself. But no one could tell except for her.

 

Because no one knew her brother better than she did.

 

She narrows her eyes at Lai Guanlin this time, examining how the taller steals glances at her brother every now and then when Jihoon isn’t aware. She thinks to look into it, but ultimately decides to leave it for another time.

 

With one last glance at the pair, she smoothly turns away, pretending as if she weren’t just watching the scene unfold before her, and makes her way towards Daniel.

 

But before she goes, one final thought courses through her mind.

 

_“Jihoon is an idiot.”_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> HHMMMMM,,,,  
> I hope that wasn’t boring/weird to read!! LOL I basically know how this fic is going to happen and everything, but for the longest time, I didn’t know how I was going to tell the story. then someone helped me realize, like, HEY—I created this big ‘ol family but for what??? to throw them into the background? (that’s literally what I was going to do rip) so then I was like “yo what if i… had all these characters help me tell the story” :0 so yeah. don’t worry tho, it will still mostly be told from panwink’s pov, and even when we’re in other people’s pov’s, the story will still be about panwink (as u see here) :D
> 
> anyway, thanks for reading! OH AND BEFORE I SAY BYE! and im using [twitter](https://twitter.com/onguanlinnie) now :D just tell me who u are (in dms or comment) and I’ll follow u back! :D (im really bad at making the first move in friendships but aklsdjfskldf PLS BE MY FRIEND LOL) <3
> 
> OK :D I’ll see u guys later! next time, I think I’ll have a clear outline for this fic and I’ll finalize the estimated amount of chapters this is going to be (but as of right now, im still horribly sick and my brain is all stuffy and I really want to take a nap LMAO) 
> 
> thanks again and I’d love to hear ur thoughts! so until next time, loves <3


	4. Chapter 4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> WTF U GUYS ARE LITERALLY THE SWEETEST PEOPLE IN THE WORLD IM STILL SO SHOOK OVER HOW EXCITED U GUYS WERE OVER READING ABOUT WOOJIN!!!! (there will be more of him in the future! thank u for accepting that so wonderfully! :D)  
> i hope u guys enjoy!! 7.5K+ words of that Juicy Panwink Content /snorts panwink up through a straw ;)))

Jihoon lies in bed the next morning, watching a lagging, pixelated Overwatch stream as he desperately tries to drown out the sound of his family in the background. He stares hard at the screen, trying to concentrate on this particular streamer’s gameplay and positioning, but for some reason he can’t seem to focus.

 

Jihoon sighs, grumbles, and buries himself deeper underneath the layers and layers of blankets he’s wrapped in, immersing himself completely into comforting, fluffy darkness. He locks his phone in defeat and finally allows his mind to address the person that has been on his mind—the person that has been distracting him from concentrating on his One True Passion and suddenly popping up into his life— _Guanlin_.

 

Jihoon huffs and recalls his encounter with the boy from the previous day…

 

_Jihoon watched as Guanlin paid for Woojin’s snowball canon and red plastic sled with a sleek, black credit card, smiling when the little kid beamed up at him yelling, “THANKS MISTER!!” with stars in his eyes._

_Woojin then launched outside of the store and began to tactical roll into piles of snow, screaming with excitement and scooping even more snow into his new gun._

_Guanlin laughed and strolled after the little boy with Jihoon in suit._

_Even though Guanlin looked happy about his little ‘investment,’ Jihoon was worried. “That totaled to, like, 50,000 won,” He said to Guanlin as they watched Woojin sprint around the area and fire snowballs at signs with incredible accuracy._

_Guanlin shrugged with an unreadable—possibly contented—smile on his face._

_“What kind of deal is worth that much money??” Jihoon asked. “He’s six. I don’t think he has anything you could possibly want.”_

_Guanlin looked like he was about to reply, but that was when Woojin suddenly whipped around with an evil look on his face and launched a snowball in Jihoon’s direction, screaming, “GOOD NIGHT FOREVER, HYUNG” and bursting out into maniacal laughter._

_The snowball, however, rammed hard into Guanlin’s stomach and the boy actually staggered back a little._

_“WOOJIN!” Jihoon cried, but the six year old was already moving onto more important things, like seeing if the snowball launcher could shoot rocks instead._

_“Sorry,” Jihoon mumbled, wiping Guanlin’s coat with his mittens._

_“It’s fine,” He said, chuckling a little._

_As Jihoon continued to pat down Guanlin’s coat, he could feel the taller’s eyes fixed on him, unwavering, feeling hot against the back of his neck and making the hairs on his nape rise. Jihoon’s stomach flipped and he tried his best to ignore it by just focusing on getting the snow off the expensive fabric before it seeped through._

_“It was worth it.” Guanlin suddenly whispered._

_“W-What was worth it?”_

_“Buying the toys for your brother,” He elaborated. Jihoon blinked questioningly at him. “He just owes me a favor now. It’s nothing bad—in case you were actually worried.”_

_“Ah…” Jihoon nodded, and then paused for a second. “What’s up with you and favors?”_

_Guanlin just shrugged with a grin on his face. “It’s business.”_

_“Business?” Jihoon snickered in disbelief._

_“Yeah,” The taller smiled. “I do something for you and you do something for me; business. That, or maybe I just like you Parks being indebted to me.” He laughed._

_Jihoon sputtered and smacked Guanlin on the arm, which only made him laugh harder._

JIhoon is suddenly pulled from his thoughts when he hears his sister announce, “ I’m going out for a bit.”

 

Jihoon decides that he doesn’t care and thinks about taking a nap. But those plans are foiled once his mom speaks up.

 

“Okay!” He hears her say, happily. “Take Jihoon.” She adds.

 

“Please don’t take Jihoon,” Jihoon cries.

 

“I don’t want to take Jihoon,” Nayoung agrees.

 

“If Jihoon doesn’t go outside then Jihoon’s phone is mine,” His mom quips.

 

And Jihoon doesn’t even reply at this point anymore. He just slips out from underneath his blankets, and falls onto the cold, hard floor of the cabin, curled up and shaking in a little ball of sadness. He feels Nayoung watch him irritably as he crawls his way towards the bathroom to get changed, and then, he eventually, drags himself back out again, groaning, whining, and mumbling curses under his breath.

 

“Stop being a baby and have fun,” His mother chimes over the sound of Woojin blowing raspberries on Daniel’s tummy somewhere off in the corner of the living room.

 

Woojin snickers and Daniel screams with delight, hiccupping and snorting.

 

Jihoon ignores her. “I’ll be back in exactly One Hour,” He sneers before turning around to trail after his sister.

 

“Stay safe!” She calls.

 

Jihoon hopes he breaks his leg just to spite her.

 

And, with that, the Park brother and sister exit the cabin.

 

 

 

 

Jihoon walks after his sister for what feels like hours.

 

They just continue to walk and walk further uphill to the point where Jihoon feels like he’s dying—out of breath and panting. He has a rough time trying to keep up with this sister’s determined, brisk strides, which only fuels his desire to fall down and roll back to the cabin.

 

“Where are we even going?” Jihoon complains, bending over and heaving. He sees the main town of the resort off in the distance when he peers over his shoulder. He checks the time on his precious phone and apparently, they’ve been hiking up a trail for the past ten minutes now.

 

“To one of the ski slopes,” Nayoung replies easily.

 

Jihoon frowns. “Which one?”

 

“The one up here.”

 

Jihoon groans at his sister’s lack of specifics and she only rolls her eyes.

 

“You know, you could have just hung around in one of the lodges,” She says as they continue to walk.

 

“By myself?” Jihoon scoffs under his breath.

 

“Oh yeah, that’s right,” Nayoung hums idly with a pleased smirk. “You don’t have any friends.”

 

Jihoon pauses in his tracks for a moment and glares at her—face igniting and stomach bubbling with anger and embarrassment. Nayoung can feel her brother’s fury radiating off his body and she lets out a soft, mocking laugh that only pushes Jihoon closer to the brink of explosion.

 

“You probably should have stayed in a lodge anyway,” Nayoung adds, “Because unlike you, I’m actually meeting up with someone here—so either _do that_ , or don’t get in the way.”

 

Jihoon then watches as she continues to pace further up the hill and Jihoon decides that he’d rather be embarrassed in front of his horrible sister, because the alternative to that is being embarrassed and _also_ a loner in front of some snobby, rich person that he’d inevitably meet if he stayed in a lodge. So with a grumble, he stomps after her, frowning with his brows furrowed tightly together.

 

Soon enough, the two of them turn a corner on the trail and end up in front of one of the smaller ski slopes at the resort. It’s still pretty big, but it’s not as big as the first one Jihoon had been on. They make their way a bit closer and Jihoon soon realizes that only half the slope has skiers on it—because the other half looks to have been sectioned off for something.

 

Once the brother and sister duo reach the bottom of the hill, they’re instantly greeted by a girl with long, light brown hair and a doll-like face, wearing an expensive pink puffer jacket and name brand jeans. Upon seeing Nayoung, the girl rams into her with her arms open wide, smothering his sister in a big hug.

 

Nayoung smiles at her and laughs, and Jihoon gags at the sight of his sister being happy.

 

She secretly flips him off.

 

 _“THANK YOU, THANK YOU, THANK YOU!!!!”_ The girl yells, squeezing Nayoung and bouncing up and down. “You’re a lifesaver!”

 

“No problem,” Nayoung chuckles, “This wasn’t out of the way or anything.”

 

Jihoon turns away from the girls as they begin to chat about _whatever,_ and looks to the part of the slope that had been sectioned off. There’s a large group of people standing at the base, crowding around a table with a woman standing behind it holding a microphone. At the top of the hill are a ton of sleds, and at the bottom is a checkered banner—a finish line.

 

“What’s this all about?” Jihoon suddenly asks, motioning towards the hill.

 

And as if the girl had finally noticed him, she peeks around Nayoung’s shoulder and looks at him, startled. She turns to Nayoung. “Is that your brother?”

 

“It really depends,” Nayoung sighs.

 

Jihoon glowers at her.

 

The girl understands what she means anyway. “It’s one of the events that the resort sets up around this time every year!” She explains in a chipper voice. “There are tons of other events like it—but this is just the first one. It’s a sled race—a competition! I hear the prize for this one is _really_ good!”

 

“A competition?” Jihoon repeats, voice piquing with interest.

 

“Yes, a competition. One that _you_ can’t participate in,” Nayoung interjects pointedly. She looks at him, and Jihoon knows that stare well enough to know what she’s thinking: _don’t get in the way_.

 

“Why not? Scared you’d lose to me?” He asks with a provoking smirk that wavers slightly. Jihoon feels his heartbeat jump in his chest and quicken in pace.

 

“As if,” Nayoung scoffs. “With your stubby legs? _Please_. Not to mention that you have absolutely no stamina what-so-ever.”

 

Jihoon hears the girl giggle and he heats up, chest squeezing with rage. He feels challenged— _threatened_.

 

“Anyway, you wouldn’t even be able to sign up. You need a partner. And from the looks of it, you don’t have many options.”

 

Jihoon snaps. He feels the embarrassment physically crawl up from his stomach and up to his neck, burning at his cheeks. He grits his teeth, clenching his jaw.

 

Nayoung is smiling smugly at him now, knowing that she’s finally gotten under his skin and that she’s _won_.

 

But Jihoon is prideful. Jihoon won’t back down without a fight and he’s Determined. “I’ll find a partner,” He growls.

 

“Good luck with that, little bro!” Nayoung sings, linking arms with the girl and turning to walk away. From over her shoulder she says, “You’ve got three minutes until the event starts!”

 

Jihoon watches as she leaves and he is seething with anger. His hands are shaking and he can barely see. He needs to show his sister up. He needs to win that race. He can’t back down from a competition—his stubbornness and pride would eat him alive if he did. But there was no way—there was no way he could—

 

It was then, that out of the corner of his eye that he saw a tall figure— _a beacon of hope_ —the person that always seemed to show up at the most random times, and even though every previous encounter with him had been borderline _horrible_ , Jihoon was absolutely elated to see him.

 

Guanlin.

 

Jihoon flies towards him, waving his arm in the air, and shouting, “GUANLIN! WAIT!”

 

Immediately, the boy freezes and he spins around, recognizing the voice calling him. “Jihoon?” He breathes in surprise. His features relax into happiness once Jihoon finally reaches him, panting and bent over.

 

“Yes, hi. It’s me,” Jihoon wheezes.

 

Guanlin looks like he’s about to say something—probably something snarky with the way the corner of his lip tilts up—but Jihoon cuts him off by shoving a hand in his face.

 

“NOT NOW,” He says, voice urgent. Guanlin pauses and blinks down at him, unused to being addressed so assertively.

 

He obeys anyway.

 

“I need your help. Right now.” Jihoon states.

 

“With what?”

 

“I need you,” He explains desperately.

 

Guanlin’s surprised expression dissolves, and a smug grin spreads across his face, “You _need_ me?”

 

“Let me rephrase that,” Jihoon rolls his eyes, “I need you to be my partner for the sled race they’re holding over there.” He points to the hill behind him and Guanlin peeks over Jihoon’s head, reading the sign through squinted eyes. “I need to participate but I don’t have anyone to do it with. Could you, please?”

 

He looks back down at Jihoon, and when he sees the desperation in the shorter’s eyes, he grins teasingly. “But I was going to go skiing,” He says nonchalantly, holding up the skis in his hand with a fake frown.

 

Jihoon almost screams, losing his mind. “ _LOOK_ ,” He starts, grabbing Guanlin by the collar of his coat and pulling him down so that they’re eye-level. “I know that we’ve only talked like two—”

 

“Three.”

 

“ _THREE_ times, but I really need this. I need this more than you know. My _pride_ is on the line right now. Do you see that girl over there?” Jihoon says, pointing to Nayoung. Guanlin looks over. “That’s my sister. She’s tested me and now I need to win this race or the world will _actually_ end and I’ll never know happiness ever again.”

 

Guanlin still doesn’t budge and Jihoon’s resolve crumbles. There’s no one else he can ask at this resort—heck, he probably shouldn’t even be asking Guanlin for something like this. He barely even knows the guy and they’ve only ever spoken by _chance_ —he’s grasping at straws now. And Jihoon decides that it’s time to pull out the big guns.

 

 _“Please?”_ Jihoon whimpers. He grabs onto the lapels of Guanlin’s coat and he forces the taller to look at him—putting on the biggest puppy eyes and pout that he can muster.

 

Guanlin stares down at Jihoon, and the smirk on his face instantly falters. Jihoon is surprised that his puppy face actually _worked_ because it’s never worked on anyone before (well, he’s only ever used it on his parents, but that’s aside from his point). Guanlin straightens up and looks away—and Jihoon actually thinks that he sees red tinting the other boy’s cheeks but he isn’t too sure because Guanlin fully turns around and waves his hand.

 

Jihoon watches as a man with an earpiece suddenly comes out of nowhere, appearing from around the corner, and walks up to Guanlin. He holds his hands out and Guanlin drops his skis and ski poles into them, whispering something in Chinese, and then the man nods, walking away.

 

Jihoon blinks at him.

 

Guanlin clears his throat. “W-What are we waiting for?” He stammers.

 

Jihoon snaps from his daze. “O-Oh—Right!” With that, he grabs Guanlin by the wrist and drags him towards the event, rushing him towards the table where the event organizer is standing and passing out numbers to each of the pairs.

 

Jihoon nearly rams into the table when they finally make it over and breathlessly, he pants, “I’d like to sign up please.” He grins with determination glistening in his eyes.

 

The lady looks up at Jihoon in confusion, and then she turns to Guanlin and jolts back, eyes widening. She gapes at him for a second before whipping her attention back to Jihoon. “U-Uh…”

 

“I have a partner?” Jihoon says, waving Guanlin’s arm around, “I’m not too late, right? I really want to participate and—”

 

The lady gulps, still looking between the two of them in shock. “Y-You're good,” She stammers and Jihoon brightens with triumph.

 

“YES!” Jihoon cheers. He then turns to his sister who is staring at him, face pale with horror. Jihoon smirks at her. _Serves her right!_ But little did he know that she was gawking at them for a completely different reason than he expected.

 

After filling out a form, the pair gets their number—27, them being the last in line—and all of the teams make their way towards the top of the hill, each grabbing their respective sled.

 

The lady looks all of the contestants over and then presses the microphone to her mouth. “Hello and welcome, ladies and gentlemen, to the Hundred Seasons Resort’s thirty-first annual Winter Games Event!” She starts.

 

Jihoon takes a look at all of the contestants and they’re all, _unsurprisingly_ , dressed stunningly. They were all teenagers or young adults, clothed in only name brand items and high-end fashions—but, Jihoon observes, _interestingly enough_ , some of them were wearing gear as if they had been preparing for this event.

 

As the lady rambles on about something unimportant, Jihoon tugs Guanlin on the arm and whispers into his ear, “What’s up with these events? Are they really _that_ important?” He asks, motioning to everyone who is staring at the event organizer very seriously, with fire in their eyes.

 

Guanlin shrugs and whispers back, “From what I know, these events were set up a long time ago for the kids of the wealthy families to hang out and have a little fun. But, they grew into this _massive_ thing and immediately became competitive.” Jihoon nods, thinking that’s quite understandable since competition is probably in their nature—being the heirs to businesses, of course. Guanlin continues, “I hear the prizes are actually _incredible_ , but I wouldn’t know. I’ve never taken part and I have no idea how any of this works.”

 

Jihoon’s eyes widen at that last part. He whips around to fully look at Guanlin who is grinning at him— _that cheeky little…_ He inhales sharply and hisses, “ _YOU HAVE NO IDEA HOW THIS—”_

 

Suddenly, the lady speaks up, voice booming and saying, “Here’s how the race is going to work!” Jihoon immediately shuts up but pinches Guanlin when he hears the taller boy laugh. “Each pair has been assigned one sled. For the first two hundred meters, one person must push the other on their sled, and make it all the way up to the edge of the hill—marked by the red painted line. Then, with the two of you on the sled, you must slide down and cross the finish line. The first pair down will then get their prize!” She announces, holding up a manila envelope.

 

The contestants all murmur in excitement.

 

“You have five minutes to prep!” She adds before turning off her microphone.

 

Jihoon scans over their competition and they all seem confident and poised—probably having done this event before in the past, and far more experienced than both Jihoon and Guanlin to win.

 

They’re at an _astounding_ disadvantage right now.

 

Jihoon turns to Guanlin with his mouth pursed with anger and he says a bit too loudly, _“YOU DON’T EVEN KNOW HOW THESE EVENTS WORK?!”_

 

He doesn’t even notice when the other contestants turn to look at them and they suddenly go silent, gaping at Jihoon’s partner as he fumes, rapidly thinking of strategies and forming different plans of attack in his head, pacing around back and forth in front of Guanlin, who watches the shorter with amusement in glistening in his eyes.

 

Jihoon pauses in his tracks and taps his foot. Everything blurs out around him and he stares at his sled and the finish line with determination. Nothing else matters to him right now. All that’s on his mind right now is how badly he wants to _WIN_ and show his sister how incredibly amazing he is at _WINNING_ so that when he goes to bed tonight, he can dream of himself CRUSHING her over and over again until he’s fully milked the spoils of his victory right in front of her crying, snotty face.

 

Jihoon yanks Guanlin down by the shoulders and brings the boy in close. There’s a spark in his eyes and he’s grinning now. “You know what? It doesn’t matter. I’m good enough for the both of us— _we’re going to win_.” Jihoon decides.

 

“Have _you_ done something like this before?” Guanlin asks.

 

“Nope.”

 

“That’s big talk coming from someone who’s in the same position as I am,” Guanlin huffs lightly.

 

“Listen, I’m smart and you…” Jihoon stops and thinks. “You’ve got long arms and long legs.”

 

Guanlin raises a brow at him with an amused smile on his face—silently waiting for him to continue.

 

“And… you’re also pretty athletic,” Jihoon adds, considering Guanlin is an avid skier.

 

Guanlin nods proudly, smiling at the compliment, and Jihoon rolls his eyes.

 

But then he breaks out into a smirk. “That means _I’m_ going to sit in the sled, and _you’re_ going to push it.”

 

“W-Wait, I’m pushing the sled?”

 

“Is there a problem, _young master?_ ” Jihoon teases. “Or are your delicate hands too soft and weak for manual labor?” He pouts mockingly, and Guanlin stiffens at the remark.

 

“N-No,” He says. He then rolls up his sleeves to his elbows and starts doing stretches with his arms to prove it.

 

“Good!” Jihoon chirps.

 

He then gets into the sled and bites his lip nervously, taking a glance at all the other competitors.

 

Things should be fine like this, Jihoon thinks. It was obvious that he was probably a bit heavier than Guanlin—not usually though. Just now because he’d been eating everything he could get his hands on at this stupid resort, he tells himself. Anyway, with _his_ weight at the front, gravity should do its job and help them move a bit faster than if their positions were reversed, and, with that, they should have a shot at winning. Or, at least, Jihoon _assumes_ that’s how gravity works. _He hasn’t really been paying attention in his physics class._

 

He feels Guanlin bend over the sled and grab onto the ends, trying his grip out on the wood.

 

Jihoon leans back and looks at him, upside-down. “When you get on, lean forwards,” Jihoon instructs him.

 

Guanlin quirks his brow. “Lean forwards?”

 

“Yeah, you know, aerodynamics? We’ll go faster that way.”

 

“Ah,” Guanlin nods.

 

He shoots Jihoon an unreadable grin, with his eyes glistening with some hidden secret, but Jihoon is too focused on winning to even catch it, let alone understand what it was for.

 

The event organizer then calls that their five minutes are up, talking loudly into the microphone. “All contestants; please make your way towards the starting line!” She announces. And when all 27 teams are situated, she then holds a gun to the air. “Are you ready?”

 

There’s a whisper of thrilled _yes’s._

 

The lady grins. “On your marks!”

 

Jihoon sucks in a breath and leans forward.

 

“Get set!”

 

He feels Guanlin shift his feet a little, getting into a running position.

 

“ _GO!_ ” She fires the gun.

 

Jihoon almost flies back once Guanlin starts sprinting. He clutches onto the sides of the sled as the cold air blasts against him, making his cheeks pink and his nose numb. Soon, Jihoon realizes that it was a _fantastic_ idea forcing Guanlin to push, because the boy keeps up with most of the crowd, running a bit faster than a large majority of the teams.

 

“You ready?” Guanlin shouts as they begin to near the edge of the hill.

 

“Yes!” Jihoon gulps.

 

They aren’t the first team to go over the hill, but they definitely weren’t the last. A spark of hope and excitement flutters through Jihoon’s chest as and he’s thinking about how the chances of them winning were finally looking up! He was a _genius_ for thinking up this plan.

 

But those thoughts are demolished not even a second afterwards, because it’s then at that moment, Guanlin finally jumps onto their sled that Jihoon suddenly realizes instead, that he is an absolute _idiot_.

 

 _Wow_. He wants to die.

 

Guanlin positions his legs onto either side of Jihoon and _leans forward,_ just as Jihoon had instructed him. Which is great because _aerodynamics_. But it’s also not that great because Jihoon is in front of him. And now he’s basically getting back-hugged by none other than Guanlin, who is panting hard and out of breath—the warm air tickling the back of his neck.

 

Jihoon flushes red and his grip on the sled tightens, nails digging into the wood. He feels his heartbeat skip, and a soft, bubbling sensation rises from his stomach and bursts in his chest, making him feel flustered and confused.

 

And he can almost _feel_ the other grinning into the fabric of his coat.

 

However, he doesn’t get the chance to think about their little _position_ for much longer, because out of the corner of his vision, he sees his sister and that girl peeking into view. And they’re coming up on them. Fast.

 

“They’re going to pass us up, Guanlin,” Jihoon gasps, flinching nervously.

 

“What do we do?” He shouts over the sound of the rushing wind.

 

Jihoon has to think quickly. He looks towards his sister and then flickers his eyes towards the finish line—which is rapidly nearing them. They’re too close to try anything fancy, but they’re still far enough to make a difference—Jihoon just doesn’t know _what_ to do.

 

He whimpers, biting his lip in thought and he squeezes his eyes tight.

 

And it hits him. Almost literally.

 

With a bloodthirsty grin, Jihoon’s eyes light up with a fire that bursts as wildly as his heart beats. He feels the energy come back to him in an explosion and the hairs on the back of his neck prickle in excitement. His grip on the sled tightens and he screams at the top of his lungs, _“RAM INTO THEM!!”_

 

“WHAT???” Guanlin shouts back, terrified.

 

“LEAN OVER! DO IT!”

 

“ARE YOU INSANE?? DO YOU UNDERSTAND HOW _FAST_ WE’RE GOING RIGHT NOW?”

 

Jihoon just laughs maniacally and Guanlin sounds like he’s about to start crying.

 

Having no choice but to obey, the two boys, together, throw their combined weights to the side, and the sled instantly swerves to their right.

 

Their sleds are now moving closer to the finish line, and the distance between Jihoon and his sister’s sleds grow shorter and shorter.

 

Nayoung turns and, upon seeing them, her eyes widen and her mouth drops open.

 

 _“WHAT DO YOU THINK YOU’RE DOING—”_ She screeches, but the sound of her voice is swallowed up by Jihoon’s wild cackling and Guanlin’s horrified screaming.

 

Then, in the next instant, their sleds collide.

 

And it goes just as horribly as a normal person (not Jihoon) would expect.

 

The girls shriek and their sled flips to the side, swerving off, and throwing the two of them out of bounds, into a large pile of snow.

 

Jihoon and Guanlin begin to spiral downhill, sled slipping and jumping erratically over uneven patches of the track. Their sled straightens out—but only this time, they’re flying backwards—and once they cross the finish line, one of the runners detach from the base and the two boys are launched off of their sled and flung several meters away, rolling together in a heap towards the foot of the hill.

 

Jihoon groans once their bodies come to an abrupt halt, tangled up together. He lies in the snow lifelessly—one leg bent under Guanlin’s arm and the other positioned _someway_ he isn’t too sure of _—_ because he really can’t feel it right now. Guanlin doesn’t sound like he’s doing much better because, he whimpers and Jihoon thinks that he _might_ feel the other’s arm under his neck. He looks over and Guanlin is somehow folded over, back flat against the ground with his legs thrown over his head.

 

They spend a few awful, disorientating minutes lying together like this, unmoving and dizzy.

 

The event organizer eventually bends over the pair and, with the microphone pressed to her mouth, she mutters, “Um… I don’t think I’ve ever seen _that_ happen before…”

 

It’s silent for a few moments, and Jihoon finally realizes that the lady is talking to _them_. He blinks up at her confusedly.

 

“You guys won,” She adds.

 

The world freezes for a second.

 

_They… won?_

 

Jihoon’s eyes widen and the lady waves a hand in front of his face, looking a bit worried because Jihoon just stares at her in shock. He’s barely breathing and barely even thinking because all that he can hear over and over again is: _You guys won, You guys won, YOU GUYS WON_.

 

Jihoon snaps up into a sitting position and turns to Guanlin who is getting helped up by one of those guys with the earpieces—but he doesn’t even notice them because all he can see right now is Guanlin and the sweet light of Victory.

 

“WE WON!!” Jihoon exclaims.

 

“We won?” Guanlin breathes, eyes widening as well.

 

Jihoon breaks out into a blinding grin and he tackles Guanlin onto the ground again, not even hearing the worried spews of Chinese coming from the men around them now.

 

“WE WON! WE WON!” Jihoon laughs, rolling around and kicking his feet excitedly.

 

Guanlin bursts out into laughter too, chanting along with the other in equal excitement.

 

They hug, and cheer, and squeeze the life out of each other, laying in the snow and basking in their hard-earned success.

 

The two boys stand up together, dusting the snow from their clothes with gigantic grins on their faces.

 

The event organizer is looking at them with shock—glancing between Jihoon, Guanlin, and the group of men who are now standing behind Guanlin looking mildly worried. She clears her throat and shakes her head, snapping back into announcer mode. “Um, right! Yes!” She speaks into the microphone. She takes the list of contestants out and reads over their names, looking for Jihoon’s name in particular. She turns to him, “It’s just Park Jihoon?” she asks. “No title?”

 

Jihoon nods, too excited and breathless to even care about what she means by that.

 

“Okay…” She brings the microphone up to her mouth again. “Our winners for the first event of this season goes to… Park Jihoon!” She hands the beaming boy an envelope. “And Lai Guanlin—heir and only son to the Lai Corporations.” She hesitantly hands him an envelope too.

 

Instantly, there are murmurs all around them—coming from all of the contestants and bystanders huddled around the event.

 

Jihoon freezes upon hearing the name. _Lai Corporations…_ He thinks to himself, almost finding the name familiar. He looks around nervously, catching the stares of all the people around them who glare at Jihoon skeptically and gaze at Guanlin with amazement.

 

He can’t make out their mumbles but he catches a few things that sound like: “Lai corporations!” “That’s Guanlin?” “I thought he didn’t do these kinds of events?” “Who is he with?” “What family is _he_ from?” “He’s just a nobody, didn’t you hear?” “They were at that party together…” “Who does that _guy_ think he is?”

 

Jihoon blinks at them. He drinks in all of their comments and they ring in his ears. He then turns to his sister who is shaking her head at him, and he mouths at her, _‘What’s a Lai Corporations?’_ genuinely confused.

 

Nayoung slaps her palm to her face.

 

Jihoon frowns at her, waiting, and when she looks back up again, her face is drained and exhausted. _‘He’s rich, dumbass.’_ She mouths back.

 

Jihoon pauses. _‘Isn’t everyone here rich?’_

She rolls her eyes and rubs her temples, trying to think of a way to break this to her brother—thinking about how to explain everything in terms he’s familiar with.

 

_‘His family could buy out Microsoft if they wanted to.’_

 

Jihoon’s eyes widen in shock and he chokes on the air he’s breathing. He can almost hear Nayoung groaning from over here and he turns to Guanlin, who is smiling down at him, still excited over their victory.

 

“You told me your family ran a business,” Jihoon says accusingly.

 

Guanlin flinches a little. “ _Technically_ it’s the same thing,” He whispers.

 

Suddenly, the weight of the situation slams on Jihoon like a boulder falling from the sky and everyone’s chatter becomes alarms, assaulting his eardrums with each word stabbing through him like knives.

 

“Does that… change anything?” He hears Guanlin ask in a small voice.

 

Jihoon jolts from his thoughts and he turns to the other again, “I-I mean, no, but…” Jihoon grows flustered and he really just wants to sink into the Earth right about now.

 

He hears Guanlin exhale in relief. “Good."

 

They stand together for a bit longer, and the people start to disperse, but not without shooting the unlikely duo another stare, still muttering about them with judging tones.

 

Jihoon clears his throat and rocks back onto the balls of his feet, looking away. “W- _Well_ ,” He says, dragging the word out before pausing thoughtfully. He then launches into a string of words, “It was really nice seeing you again! Thanks for helping me out, I think I should really get going now—” He laughs forcibly, spinning on his heels and beginning to march away.

 

But then he’s stopped when a hand grabs at his elbow and tugs him back.

 

“Nuh-uh. No you don’t,” Guanlin snickers.

 

Jihoon frowns embarrassedly and he feels his blush climb all the way up to his ears. “What?” He whispers.

 

“I think _you_ owe me a favor,” Guanlin chirps, smiling down at Jihoon, eyes light and playful.

 

Jihoon gulps. “W-What do you want?”

 

The taller boy thinks for a second and when an idea pops in his mind, it shows on his face because he lights up and grins coolly, “Join me for brunch.”

 

“Brunch??” Jihoon snorts.

 

“Do you not know what brunch is?” Guanlin teases.

 

“I know what _brunch_ is!” He frowns.

 

“Then come on!”

 

Guanlin then begins to drag Jihoon away, and Jihoon has no choice but to follow after him, flustered and pouting. Who even _eats_ brunch? He thinks. Do real people even have time or money for bunch? Or was this just a rich people thing?

 

Guanlin continues to guide Jihoon through the resort, navigating his way through the various restaurants and stores as Jihoon still continues to think.

 

Wasn’t brunch that thing that only the King and Queen had… with finger sandwiches and tea over idle conversations about pretentious things? Like politics, or weather, or… money?

 

With that thought, Jihoon suddenly realizes that he’s going to be having “brunch” with Guanlin—the supposedly _mega rich boy_ —and the situation hits him again like another hard punch to the stomach.

 

Only when he finds himself being whisked into a sleek, expensive café does Jihoon snap from his ponderings and announces to Guanlin. “I have to use the bathroom.”

 

Before Guanlin can reply or even question the terrified look in Jihoon’s eyes, the shorter is hurrying towards the restroom, taking brisk strides, and he disappears behind the doors without another word.

 

Jihoon kicks open a stall and yanks out his phone, pulling up a search engine and praying to god that the internet connection won’t fail him now as he types up the words: _Lai Corporations_ into the search bar.

 

It only takes a few seconds for thousands upon thousands of news articles to flood his screen.

 

And Jihoon almost drops his phone into the toilet after seeing the family’s Net Worth.

 

His soul leaves his body.

 

Once Jihoon finds his composure again, he types the word: _Guanlin_ next to his previous search and he immediately clicks on an article that looks easy to read, yet still informative enough. Jihoon skims through it and by the end of the reading, he just wants to turn around and vomit onto the floor because vomiting in the toilet doesn’t leave enough of an impact considering how absolutely mortified he is right now.

 

Lai Guanlin—the only heir to the Lai Corporations. Apparently he was home schooled, receiving top marks and perfect scores in every subject on the face of the planet. He then graduated college at the age of 14 and moved on to working with his family’s company. He’s fluent in three languages and incredibly well rounded. He enjoys playing sports in his free time—basketball the most. He’s been helping his parents organize charity projects and business deals since the age of 13, and he aspires to be just as hardworking and successful as they are.

 

_Yeah._

 

Jihoon looks around the bathroom to see if there are any windows that he can try to crawl out of.

 

There are none.

 

He’s stuck.

 

It’s then that Jihoon hears someone walk into the bathroom and he then realizes that he’s been in here, freaking out, for the past ten minutes. Hurriedly, he pretends to flush the toilet and steps out of the stall, walking over to the sinks where he can wash his hands. He looks at himself in the mirror and, _boy_ , does he look disgusting. His cheeks and nose are red and his lips are chapped and peeling. His hair is blown into a tangled mess and his jacket has wet spots from where he was rolling around in the snow. Before he goes out again, he tries to fix himself up but he’s already spent too much time in here, so he scurries out and finds Guanlin sitting alone in the middle of the café, waiting for Jihoon to return.

 

“I ordered for you since you were taking your sweet time,” Guanlin hums once Jihoon situates himself in front of the other. Guanlin smiles into his drink, looking at the other, before taking a sip.

 

“Sorry, I got… _lost_.”

 

Guanlin snorts and almost chokes up his drink. Jihoon flushes in embarrassment.

 

He’s an idiot. He doesn’t even know what he’s saying anymore because he’s so nervous.

 

They’re getting stares from everyone around the café and he hears their murmurs, talking about Guanlin in astonishment and then addressing Jihoon with confusion and judgment. Jihoon understands them, though. He really shouldn’t be sitting here with Guanlin. He’s probably one of the most influential teenagers in the world right now, and Jihoon? Jihoon is a nobody. Guanlin has organized _charities_ and Jihoon thinks the only cool thing he’s ever done is get a 99% on a writing assignment he completed in the 2 nd grade. And instead of hanging that assignment on refrigerator for _one_ week, his parents left it up there for _two_. _HE DIDN’T EVEN GET A 100% ON THE PAPER!!_ Guanlin can speak _three_ whole-ass languages.

 

“You got lost going to the bathroom?” Guanlin chuckles.

 

Jihoon refuses to make eye contact with the other. “Mysterious, isn’t it?” He mumbles into his drink. He takes a sip, and it’s tea. Jihoon couldn’t believe how posh this entire place was feeling right now. And that just makes him feels more than out of place.

 

He can feel Guanlin smiling at him but the boy doesn’t question him any further, and Jihoon wants to melt into his chair and evaporate.

 

Their food comes out quickly—Jihoon is pretty sure that Guanlin’s status had something to do with it—and as if this place couldn’t get any _classier_ , sure enough, they’re presented with trays of finger sandwiches and bowls of soup.

 

Jihoon stares at the food with a worried expression, glancing between Guanlin and the various plates of itty-bitty sandwiches in front of him. He’s stunned. But, _even more_ , he’s confused because Jihoon has no idea how to eat _finger sandwiches_ … He tries to make a grab for one, but then hesitates.

 

Should he, _uh_ , put his pinky up?

 

He takes a look at Guanlin who puts his napkin in his lap, and Jihoon follows him closely, expression flustered and helplessly lost. He watches as Guanlin picks up a sandwich, long fingers delicately wrapping around the slices of bread, and the boy _somehow_  manages eats the sandwich so elegantly, Jihoon thinks that there’s no way what he’s watching is real.

 

Jihoon is shocked. But he’s also hungry. So as carefully as he can, he grabs a sandwich and, despite his best efforts, a piece of lettuce falls out. Jihoon wants to sob, but he keeps going for it anyway. He then shoves the entire thing in his mouth and once the sandwich touches his taste buds, Jihoon is no longer on this plane of existence.

 

The sandwich… is _heavenly._

 

Jihoon actually almost _moans_ with his eyes rolling back into his skull. This sandwich is the best fucking sandwich that Jihoon had _ever_ tasted in his entire nineteen years of life. And he wants _more_.

 

Jihoon loses himself.

 

He scoops another one into his mouth and it’s just as good as the first—if not, even better. The sandwich is melting in his mouth—do sandwiches even do that? He doesn’t even care because he then thinks to himself, no wonder rich people eat brunch if brunch always tasted this good. Jihoon decides that brunch is now his favorite meal of the day. He wants to _always_ be eating brunch.

 

Soon enough, Jihoon has three sandwiches in his mouth and he’s weeping in ecstasy. He stuffs another one down his throat before he begins to actually chew, but once he hears an airy, little laugh from across the table, Jihoon is immediately yanked down from his sandwich-high and blinks at Guanlin in mortification.

 

He swallows hard and almost chokes. “W-What?” Jihoon asks, curling in on himself.

 

“Nothing,” Guanlin smiles sheepishly. He takes another sandwich and bites into it carefully.

 

Jihoon suddenly shies in on himself, staring blankly into his bowl of untouched soup.

 

“Is something the matter?” He hears Guanlin ask.

 

“No—”

 

“Then why did you stop eating?”

 

“No appetite?”

 

“You just had four sandwiches in your mouth, I seriously doubt that.”

 

“I don’t know!!” Jihoon whispers harshly. “Maybe it has something to do with the fact that I really don’t belong here right now?” His shoulders droop and he looks around anxiously. People are still shooting glances at them and, some, even giggling. This is really too much for him. “Wouldn’t you be nervous if you were in my position?”

 

Guanlin pauses for a second, taking in Jihoon’s confession. But then a sly grin spreads across his face and he teases, “I make you that nervous? I’m honored that you’re _trembling_ over me.”

 

Immediately, the anxiety Jihoon was feeling flushes straight down the drain and he stares at the other flatly. “Never mind. I take it back.”

 

Guanlin laughs and Jihoon dejectedly stuffs another sandwich in his mouth.

 

They sit in silence for a bit, eating and letting the situation settle for a moment.

 

“If it makes you feel any better,” Guanlin suddenly speaks up. “I’m a bit nervous too.”

 

Jihoon looks up at him with wide eyes. “You’re nervous?” He asks, voice pitched and disbelieving.

 

Guanlin nods.

 

“W-Why?”

 

And the other doesn’t even reply. He just looks at Jihoon with soft eyes, but examines him deeply.

 

Jihoon feels himself grow red. He feels small under his gaze and he sort of wants to disappear and also sort of wants to fly into the atmosphere when his heart almost jumps in his chest. He’s flushing and fidgeting, and he stares at Guanlin back, trying to look annoyed and assertive, but there’s something about Guanlin’s steady, casual gaze that makes Jihoon want to give up. _Give up what?_

 

Guanlin then opens his mouth to say something, but it’s then that one of those men with the earpieces, dressed in black suits, rests a hand on Guanlin’s shoulder, grabbing the boy’s attention.

 

“Sorry, excuse me again,” Guanlin whispers.

 

Jihoon thinks that he’s never been this frustrated before.

 

He watches as the two converse in Chinese again, and Guanlin’s expression falls. He says something back and the man replies a bit more urgently. Guanlin’s shoulders stiffen and he nods, waving the man off.

 

“Looks like I have to go again,” He says with a sad smile on his face.

 

Jihoon doesn’t want Guanlin to go. He wants him to answer his question. But Guanlin starts standing up and so does Jihoon.

 

“Do you want to box this up and take it with you?” Jihoon asks.

 

“It’s fine. You can have it all,” Guanlin says. “Give some to Woojin.” He adds. “And maybe one to your sister.”

 

Jihoon smiles a little, his heart fluttering in his chest when he hears Guanlin remembering his family.

 

They get the boxes ready and head out of the café, reading to walk their separate ways. But before Guanlin leaves, he turns around.

 

“I had a lot of fun. Thanks for asking me to be your partner.” He says.

 

“I guess it was pretty fun,” Jihoon grins. “Thanks for helping me out and, uh, thanks for the food.”

 

“I’ll see you.” Guanlin promises.

 

“Sure,” He laughs.

 

Jihoon heads back to his cabin and his mother pats him on the back, happily asking him about what he did during his four hours outside for the day. Jihoon doesn’t quite answer her, because he’s too busy relishing in the wonderful glare his sister shoots him.

 

It’s only later that night, when he takes off his jacket, and a little envelope falls from his pocket. It’s his prize from the competition.

 

Jihoon rips open the paper and inside is a ticket—a ticket that he’d have to cash in to one of the lodges before the specified date on the bottom. It looks fancy and the paper even shines when he turns it in the light a certain way. He’s excited to use the ticket. And maybe also excited because that means he’ll have to spend another day with Guanlin—not that he’ll ever wholly admit it, however.

 

But if things keep happening the way they’ve been, he’ll probably run into the boy before then anyway.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> jihoon is just a grumpy, shy, smol boy who guanlin adores idk lololol also, 10+ points to the first person who can guess the IOI member Nayoung was with askdjfajf
> 
> OK so I sat down and finalized a lot of my thoughts for this fic. and im only 60% sure this fic is going to be 11 chapters. cuz it might be longer. HONESTLY, i think im just gonna wing this story and hit the major plot points when I feel like it LOLOL this is a chill/casual fic so im gonna write it casually B-)
> 
> anyway, next chapter will be up! I’ve actually been working on a panwink mermaid au along side this, cuz apparently this fic is never gonna end with the way I keep adding/changing stuff LOL and I also want to work on other stories so if ur feeling Particularly Thirsty for more panwink, u can go check that shit out B-) its called like Song of the Deep or smth idk just know that its very Dramatic and the complete opposite of this fic lololol
> 
> OKAY! i'll proofread this again later! i just really wanted to get this out before i chill with my friend for the rest of the day lolololol WHOOP WHOOP! I’ll see u guys next time! pls tell me what u think :D <3  
> (twt @onguanlinnie / cc @coppercoin) - b my fren :o


	5. Chapter 5

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> SCREAMS AT THE TOP OF MY LUNGS AND BEGINS TO CRY!!!!! THANK U GUYS SO MUCH FOR THE 200 KUDOS AND 2000+ HITS AAAAAAAAAA ;A: u guys are actually the sweetest people in the world!!! Thank u so much for ur support thus far, it really means the world to me ;u; what started out as a little winter project grew into something so much bigger, and the fact that everyone enjoys this fic SO MUCH is just insane to me *A* so thank u again ;u;
> 
> ;u; ANYWAY!!! Omg u guys RIP this chapter was so hard getting out :0 if u follow my twitter u'll know that last week I had the worst computer problems. my poor mac died forever and I almost lost all the stuff for my fics!!! ;_; but luckily I was able to get them back (it's a long, emotional story) so TADA! Here we are! The sacrifice of my precious computer will not be in vain ;A;
> 
> So I hope u guys enjoy this! *u* Its just pure fukcing dialogue is2g /cries

For the next few days, Jihoon doesn’t see Guanlin anywhere— _not that Jihoon was looking for him though_ , he assures himself with a nod. Because it doesn’t matter if he doesn’t see the other. And, in all honesty, it _shouldn’t_ matter.

 

But it’s only somewhere deep down in the depths of Jihoon’s stone, cold heart, that he’d actually admit to himself that this upsets him more than it probably should. To the point where it was almost _embarrassing_.

 

For the next few days, whenever he was forced outside with his family, Jihoon would subconsciously perk up whenever he’d see a tall, lanky figure, or his heart would involuntarily jump when he’d catch a head of short, dark hair. And, if that wasn’t humiliating enough, each time he’d realize that the person he spotted wasn’t Guanlin, he’d feel his heart sink into his stomach and his nape would tingle with embarrassment.

 

However, Jihoon remains indifferent about the situation. Or, at least, he _tries_ to on the outside. On the inside, however, he’s still a little bit upset. But he soon convinces himself that there’s no point in getting worked up over this matter for two main reasons.

 

The first reason is because Jihoon still stubbornly refuses to be outside for more than one-hour max. It’s only logical that he doesn’t run into Guanlin—the probability that he’d run into the other being quite slim, considering Jihoon spends twenty-three out of the entire, twenty-four hours in a day locked up inside his family’s cabin watching his most beloved video game streams.

 

The second reason is even more logical—even more _probable_ , rather. And that reason is their differences in social status. It wasn’t until recently did Jihoon fully realize that the fact that they have been running into each other had been truly more than coincidental. It’s unlikely that Jihoon should expect to run into Guanlin. And, more than that, it’s _unrealistic_. The other boy probably had better things to do than to hang out with someone like Jihoon. And Jihoon, in all honesty, shouldn’t even think about getting his hopes up.

 

This is so unlike him, he groans. He shouldn’t be enjoying this trip and he _definitely_ shouldn’t be willing to spend a millisecond more outside than he’s required to in order to see someone. There is NOTHING more fun than watching a game of PUBG, he firmly tells himself.

  

Jihoon sighs and sucks up his unnecessary feelings. And with a few strong words of discouragement, he finally convinces himself, that he just doesn’t care anymore. Soon, this trip would be over and _soon_ , he’d go back to his usual life of just gaming and Absolute Fun inside the isolation his bedroom for the last week of his winter break. Where his heart truly belongs.

 

And Jihoon tells himself to forget about Guanlin.

 

\---

 

It’s around the sixth day of not seeing the other when Jihoon has 100% gotten over him and has moved onto his regular bullshit. 

 

This particular morning, the Park parents announced that they were going to spend some time together at the complimentary spa, leaving Nayoung and Jihoon with “little brother duty.” And this time, Jihoon was lucky enough to score Daniel, while Nayoung—that sucker—got stuck with Woojin.

 

Jihoon sticks his tongue out at Nayoung and presses a big, mocking smooch to Daniel’s cheek. Nayoung groans, running a hand down her face. She turns and watches Woojin shove a booger into his mouth and the little boy moans with happiness, lapping delightedly at his index finger. She frowns and Jihoon can physically see the light leaving his sister’s eyes.

 

He loves this. He drinks up his sister’s misery and it Fuels him.

 

Soon enough, the Park parents leave, and all four kids are left in the cabin to spend their morning doing whatever they want, which means Jihoon flops right back down onto his bed and pulls out his phone to watch a League of Legends tournament. 

 

But before he can do that, Daniel crawls up to the edge of his bed and chants, “Hyung! Hyung! Up!” The boy grips onto the sheets and bounces up and down on his wobbly, little baby legs.

 

Jihoon peeks over the edge. “You wanna lay with me?” He asks.

 

“Up!” Daniel demands, making grabby-hands at his older brother.

 

Jihoon scoops Daniel up and lays the baby on his stomach, balancing his phone on top of Daniel’s conveniently positioned head as the other has fun giggling at nothing and slobbering all over Jihoon’s pajama shirt and, of course, his most beloved stuffed cat Rooney.

 

Just like that, hours pass and eventually, it’s halftime. Jihoon doesn’t feel like watching ads so he locks his phone and lets it continue to rest on top of Daniel’s big head. The baby is asleep, tiny fists curled around the folds of Jihoon’s shirt with a steady stream of drool pouring from his gaping mouth. _Yuck._

 

Jihoon cranes his head up and finds that Nayoung is also asleep, and Woojin is on the floor, digging through her makeup bag and testing out every color of lipstick and eyeshadow on his face. The toddler looks at his horrifying reflection in a little hand mirror every now and then to wink at himself and Jihoon smirks, deciding to let Nayoung find out later and letting his sister live in blissful ignorance until the right moment comes.

 

But it’s then that all of a sudden that there’s an unexpected knock on the door. It takes a second for everyone to notice the sound, but as if something clicked in everyone’s mind, Nayoung pops up from the couch, a tube of lipstick falls from Woojin’s mouth, and Daniel stirs in his sleep.

 

Nayoung irritably looks at the clock and figures that it’s about time for their parents to come back. So, with that, she turns to Jihoon and raises a brow expectantly.

 

“You get it,” Jihoon whispers to her.

 

“You get it.”

 

“Daniel is sleeping on me,” He hisses, pointing to the little lump on his tummy.

 

Nayoung rolls her eyes, falling back down in exasperation. “Woojin, you get it.”

 

“YES!!!!” Woojin yells, bolting up from his spot on the ground and barreling towards the front door. The colorful boy spits out a chunk of Nayoung’s cherry flavored chapstick and, on his tippy-toes, he grabs at the door knob and yanks it open. “IT’S ONE OF THE MEN IN BLACK!” Woojin gasps, flinging the door even wider and staring at the suited man in front of him with shock glistening in his eyes.

 

Nayoung sits up on the couch, startled with confusion and slowly makes her way over to their unexpected guest. Jihoon tries to bend his neck around to see, but ultimately, it’s hopeless and he glares at the baby fast asleep on top of him, locking him into position.

 

“DID YOU COME HERE TO TAKE MY FAMILY??” Woojin screams. The little boy gets into a fighting stance and his face darkens threateningly. “You’ll have to get through _me_ first.” He growls, throwing a warning punch and a spinning kick.

 

Nayoung nudges him off to the side and Woojin flops over. “Um, hello? How can I help you?” She asks.

 

“I’m here for a Park Jihoon?” Jihoon hears the man say in slightly accented Korean. “Am I in the right cabin…”

 

Nayoung’s eyes widen and she gapes a little. “I… _uh_ … yeah. He’s here,” She says after a moment, opening the door wider. “Come in, I guess?”

 

“Thank you.”

 

Jihoon hears the man pad into the cabin but the sound is dominated by a sharp gasp and a muffled scream.

 

 _“WOOJIN WHAT DID YOU—”_ Nayoung storms over to her makeup bag and stands over it, gazing at the scene of the crime with a hand over her mouth. She looks at Woojin with rage in her eyes, and Jihoon can see that she’s _seconds_ away from exploding.

 

Woojin looks at her innocently. “I didn’t do it,” he claims, voice flat and serious. And Jihoon thinks that his lying would have been quite believable—that is—if his face weren’t a rainbow of a Jackson Pollock painting.

 

Nayoung looks like she’s about to scream and she grips at the air, holding herself back from strangling the little boy.

 

Jihoon snickers but that sound instantly dies when a suited man with an earpiece walks over and stands at the foot of his bed, staring down at him.

 

“Uh… hi there,” Jihoon greets the man hesitantly.

 

“Are you Park Jihoon?” He asks.

 

“Um… Yeah?”

 

The man inspects him for a second, humming in thought. Jihoon feels like he’s being examined and he doesn’t really like it—but before he can express his uncomfort, the man says, “Lai Guanlin wishes to see you.”

 

Jihoon’s heart stops beating for a second. He blinks up at the man, brain slowly processing what he had just said, and he just stares at him, eyes still wide and unbelieving—as if this were some weird dream or something. _Guanlin wanted to see him?_ He repeats in his head. Jihoon feels as though there’s a brick lodged in his windpipe, making it hard for him to breathe. He tenses up, face heating. “Come again?”

 

“He wants you to join him for lunch.”

 

Jihoon flushes in embarrassment. “Why?” He tries to say. But it comes out as more of a squeak, and he suddenly hates himself for that.

 

“I don’t have the answer to that question,” The man simply replies. He looks at his watch. “We better get going. He’s waiting.”

 

Jihoon feels sick. He doesn’t know if he’s horrified or nervous or maybe even… excited? Jihoon pauses, face paling at the mere thought of himself being _excited_ to see someone at this stupid resort. And  _Guanlin_ of all people. Just last week he was expecting to run into him, but now that he was actually  _requesting_ to see him, he wasn't too sure what to feel anymore.

 

Jihoon is pulled from his thoughts when he suddenly hears the man chime, “Mr. Lai doesn’t have all day.”

 

“Okay, okay… _wait_ ,” He murmurs, sliding out from underneath Daniel and robotically making his way towards the bathroom. He’s on autopilot—acting out of second nature and hands numbly working to make himself look at least a little presentable. He combs his hair and brushes his teeth. He wonders why he doesn’t really mind missing the rest of his League of Legends tournament for _lunch with Guanlin._ But he shrugs on a coat anyway, and in the midst of all his thoughts, he begins to feel dizzy.

 

Jihoon eventually stumbles out of the bathroom, eyes wide and shaken, and he anxiously scratches the back of his head. It’s all so disorientating. He’s never been outside because he’s _wanted_ to. Jihoon thinks that he’s losing his sense of self and he wonders who he is in this world—Who is he becoming? Is this the end? Jihoon doesn’t really understand _feelings_ and he doesn’t really want to start learning.

 

Nonetheless, he gets ready to trail after the guy, but he then hears Nayoung shout from where she’s wiping Woojin’s face, “Hey! Aren’t you forgetting something?”

 

Jihoon pauses. In all honesty, brain isn’t really working right now. Everything is just so confusing to him because all he can feel is _nervousness_ and—oh, god—he feels like he’s going to hurl. _He thought Guanlin was done with him??? He thought that he wasn’t going to see Guanlin ever again. They hadn’t talked in almost a week and now he was requesting to see him? Well, it wasn’t like they ended on a bad note or anything…_ It's just, they're so different. He immediately shoves his hands down his pants and rummages around, making sure he has his underwear on. “I don’t think I’m forgetting anything…” He mumbles.

 

Nayoung rolls her eyes and scoffs, “I wasn’t talking about your underwear, idiot. You’re on Daniel duty.”

 

Jihoon freezes, slowly slipping his hands out from his pants as the man with the earpiece stares at him with a horrified expression on his face, probably questioning why Guanlin wanted to meet with someone like Jihoon. “But… I-I’m going to a restaurant,” he reasons.

 

“Then be thankful you don’t have _Woojin_ ,” She growls bitterly, digging a fresh makeup wipe into Woojin’s cheek and scrubbing as hard as she can.

 

Woojin snickers and Nayoung smacks him on the arm. _“Hold still…”_

 

Jihoon just whimpers in reply and turns to the little baby sprawled out on their shared bed. He’s awake now and babbling stupidly at Jihoon with stars in his eyes. Reluctantly, the elder brother shoves a coat and a hat over Daniel’s small head, and the baby screams with excitement—elated to be going outside and clapping his hands. Jihoon slips a pair of useless baby shoes over his feet, pops a cat-shaped binky into his mouth, and then once he’s all set, he hoists the boy up—but not before grabbing Rooney—and heads straight out the door.

 

“I’ll, uh, be back… I guess,” He mumbles.

 

“TELL MR. PIE I SAY HELLO!” Woojin screeches.

 

And once he steps outside, he’s greeted by an entourage of men in black suits.

 

_Oh, boy._

 

Jihoon instantly turns scarlet and his skin prickles with embarrassment. He didn’t want to be escorted like this—and he’s already getting stares from people from further up the hill, murmuring things amongst themselves and wondering who he was or why he was being treated like this. Jihoon hangs his head low and trails after the small group of men, clutching Daniel nervously to his chest. He desperately tries not to make eye contact with anyone during their entire trip uphill, and at the back of his mind, he repeats to himself, crying, _what has he gotten into?_

 

\---

 

Jihoon stumbles into the restaurant, and the immediate second he bursts in through the doors, everyone turns to stare either because he’s Jihoon (the resident nobody) or because there’s about five suited men wearing ear pieces standing around him. Either way, he flushes with embarrassment and nods at them a silent greeting. And, with that, everyone in the restaurant hesitantly turns back to continue with what they were doing, but still sneaking glances at the other that makes Jihoon want to burrow into a hole and never go outside again.

 

“This way,” One of the men says, gesturing for Jihoon to follow him.

 

“Uh… okay,” He obeys.

 

They make their way deeper into the restaurant, and Jihoon notes how incredibly sleek the entire place is—with dark, smooth tables and a high ceiling. Some of the walls are made entirely of glass, filling the restaurant with bright light and giving their high-class customers a perfect view of the mountain range.

 

Jihoon easily finds Guanlin—the boy is sitting alone with his arms crossed, holding himself together confidently, radiating prestige and nobility. And Jihoon would have fallen for it, that is, if he wasn't beyond angry with him right now for embarrassing him like this.

 

Guanlin catches Jihoon as he makes his way over, and he gives the other a playful wave, smirking at Jihoon’s agitated state. And all the embarrassment Jihoon was feeling suddenly dissipates and instead, he’s heated.

 

He plops down in front of Guanlin and stares at him with exasperation, eyebrows furrowed and mouth pursed thin.

 

Guanlin lights up. “Ah, hello there, Jihoon,” He easily greets the other, leaning a bit forwards in his chair with a spark in his eye. “Long time no talk—”

 

“Was that really necessary?” Jihoon interrupts him, hissing and cowering in on himself. There are still people sneaking glances at them and Guanlin just seems used to it for some reason, as if there were nothing wrong.

 

Guanlin pauses. “What do you mean?” He smiles, raising a brow at him expectantly.

 

“The parade.”

 

Guanlin snickers. “You didn’t like it?”

 

“Not particularly,” Jihoon replies irritably.

 

The heir straightens up a bit at this response, still staring at Jihoon as if he were examining him—amused, yet interested—and trying to fully figure him out. And Jihoon stares right back, scowling and holding his ground the best he can. They sit like that for a bit, he unclenched and clenches his fists on his lap as the other somehow stays impressively poised. But Guanlin eventually gives in, breaking the silence and saying, “Sorry,” he grins slowly, “I just didn’t know when I was going to see you again so I took matters into my own hands. Forgive me?”

 

“No.”

 

Guanlin raises a brow at him, eyes shocked but expression still holding its amused demeanor. “No?” He repeats, and if Jihoon didn’t know any better, he’d say that Guanlin sounded almost a bit scared. “Why not?”

 

“B-Because I’m not going to let you off that easy. So, let’s just say… _you owe me one_ ,” He smirks, voice stuttering ever so slightly. “A favor of some sort,” He elaborates even further, successfully turning the tables in his favor.

 

Jihoon can see that Guanlin visibly relaxes. He smiles at Jihoon’s precise choice of words and asks, “What do you want?”

 

“I’ll decide later,” Jihoon hums.

 

“Are you implying that you want to see me again?” He proposes.

 

Jihoon doesn't really know. He knows that really likes the idea of the heir being indebted to him this time instead of vice versa, but he can't say that. So instead, he tries to keep a playful tone with the other. “This resort is pretty boring and the internet connection really stinks... So don’t get too excited; you’re not at the top of my priorities list”

 

“ _Yet_ ,” Guanlin adds with a smug grin spreading across his face.

 

Jihoon is caught off guard, but he smoothly retorts back, “You think too highly of yourself.”

 

“In respect, I don’t believe you’re thinking high  _enough_ ,” Guanlin quips.

 

Jihoon shakes his head and snickers and Guanlin smiles into his glass of water. And even though the atmosphere around them was still nerve-wracking, Jihoon somehow manages to find ease when talking to the other. Despite that, however, if they were going to keep meeting, he is going to have to lay down some ground rules. “Don’t do that again though, okay?” Jihoon states harshly. “It’s embarrassing and uncomfortable for me.”

 

“Then how else am I supposed to contact you?”

 

 “With a phone?” Jihoon suggests. “Or is that too normal for you? We _could_ try carrier pigeon…” He mumbles thoughtfully.

 

Guanlin tries to force back a smile as he slips his phone out of his pocket, handing it to Jihoon. “I don’t mean to brag, but a lot of people would have liked being escorted like that,” He says with a light laugh.

 

Jihoon scoffs and punches his phone number into the device. “You’re right. I’m _swooning_ over the feeling of being _embarrassed_ and put on the spot,” He replies sarcastically. And even though he pushes the feeling away, he couldn’t help but to sense that he was being watched by everyone around him— _because he w_ as—and their heated stares boring into the back of his head were always a reminder of who he was and who he was with. “Sometimes, I think you’re forgetting what kind of person you’re talking to,” He sighs.

 

“I know what kind of person I’m talking to.”

 

“Then why?” Jihoon asks. “You know, you’re probably going to forget about me once I go back home and we’re never going to meet again.”

 

Guanlin pauses in thought, silently gazing at the other. “Then…” He begins slowly, “Let’s make what little time we have together here memorable, yes?” He then smirks and rests his chin and his palm, leaning in a bit closer over their table. “And besides, I believe you’re selling yourself a bit short. I don’t think I could ever forget a person like you.”

 

Jihoon finally breaks and he flushes red, sputtering a little, blinking at the other and trying to see if he really meant what he’d just implied. And when he only receives the same, steady gaze, Jihoon hisses, “ _In respect,_ I don’t think I could forget a person like _you_ —who in their right mind can just casually say something like that?” He feels his blush creep to his ears and he hates how easily he can visibly get flustered.

 

But Guanlin just continues to gaze at the other with his eyes sparkling in amusement. “Is it a problem?” The heir smiles pleasantly.

 

An irritated grin stretches across Jihoon’s face. “I don’t know yet,” He says through gritted teeth. “It might be. _Soon_.”

 

“Then I’ll hold back a little,” Guanlin replies. “I enjoy your company far too much for you to dislike me.”

 

“H-Hey, watch it," He warns the of his other's teasing tone, "I can walk right back to my cabin if I wanted to. I’m on baby duty today.”

 

Then, as if Guanlin totally didn’t realize the entire baby in Jihoon’s hands, he forces his attention away from the elder and flinches, startled. “Oh, uh, hello there?”

 

Daniel turns around in Jihoon’s arms and shoves his fingers into his mouth, gurgling with excitement. With his free hand, he waves.

 

Guanlin hesitantly waves back, unsure of what to do.

 

“Do they have high-chairs at this place? He’s getting a little heavy,” Jihoon grunts, positioning Daniel on his lap. The baby immediately goes for the butter knife in his direct line of sight and Jihoon snatches it away before he can get to it.

 

Daniel bursts into laughter and innocently looks up at Jihoon, drool dribbling down his chin.

  

“Uh, I don’t think so,” Guanlin replies. “But, here.” He then waves his hand and one of the suited men come walking up to their table from a corner in the restaurant.

 

The man sits down and holds his hands out to take the baby.

 

Jihoon stares between him and Guanlin. “Uh…”

 

“It’s fine,” Guanlin assures him.

 

“Er… okay?” He hands over Daniel.

 

And immediately once Daniel is in the arms of the stranger, he screams excitedly, clapping his hands together and grabbing the man’s tie, shoving it right into his mouth and gnawing on it.

 

“Is that okay?” Jihoon asks.

 

“Yeah, don’t worry,” Guanlin replies. But his voice sounds a bit uncertain.

 

“Well, if you say so…”

 

He tries to look away, but it’s then that he catches Daniel trying to stuff Rooney into the man’s closed mouth as the other’s face suddenly drains with exhaustion. Jihoon feels bad, but doesn’t make a move to stop him.

 

“Anyway,” Jihoon clears his throat. “Here, I added my phone number.” He gives Guanlin his phone back. “Just Kakao me or something next time.”

 

“Kakao?”

 

Jihoon pauses. “You don’t know what Kakao Talk is?” He asks slowly.

 

“Should I?” Guanlin asks.

 

Jihoon just blinks at Guanlin thoughtfully. And the other actually almost shies away, realizing what he’s just implied and scared about what Jihoon is about to ask next.

 

“It’s… a messaging app? Everyone our age uses it,” He explains confusedly.

 

Guanlin almost flushes and it surprises Jihoon. “Oh, I see,” Is all he says.

 

“W-Wait,” Jihoon stammers, with his voice rising slightly, “Are you telling me you’ve never heard of Kakao before?”

 

Guanlin sighs and purses his lips, scratching the back of his head. “I’ve never needed to, I guess?”

 

“Do you, like, not have any friends or something?” Jihoon sputters.

 

“I have friends,” Guanlin assures him. “I just never message them for fun.”

 

“Then they don’t sound like friends to me.”

 

“Look,” Guanlin replies. “It’s complicated.” He doesn’t explain any further.

 

But in his silence, thousands of questions burst into Jihoon’s head. _Was it hard for him to make friends? Did he just not trust people from his social class? Did he just not find them interesting enough? Why did he choose not to make friends anyone?_ Jihoon stares at the other, trying to see if he can force anymore information out of the other, but Guanlin doesn’t budge. “Okay,” He responds instead after a few moments.

 

And even though the action is carefully hidden, Jihoon notices that Guanlin seems to deflate a little.

 

Jihoon sighs and looks over the other silently. Something in his chest stings and he decides that he doesn’t like seeing Guanlin like this. He actually missed the confident, snarky persona—not that he’d ever admit it though. “Give me your phone again,” He demands, holding his hand out.

 

Guanlin hesitantly gives it to him.

 

Jihoon goes into his apps store and downloads Kakao Talk onto his phone—surprised that it actually downloaded fast for the other considering he can barely even load a page of text on Reddit. He leans over the table and beckons Guanlin to come closer so that they can look at the screen together. “Here, I downloaded Kakao for you,” He explains, tapping his finger onto the screen and showing the other how to work the messaging app. “There’s me,” He says, clicking his icon. He types in a message that states: _Wow, Jihoon, you’re the coolest!_ And punches the send button while adding one of the cute emojis.

 

Guanlin snickers at the message and takes his phone back, flipping through the app curiously. “Why don’t people just use their default messaging app?” He asks, and Jihoon feels his phone vibrate in his pocket.

 

He picks it up and sees that Guanlin has sent him a stupid emoji of Jay-G doing a handstand. “I don’t know,” Jihoon shrugs, sending back an emoji of Muzi squaring up to fight. “I think it’s the cute layout. Or maybe it’s the emojis.”

 

Guanlin sends him back another emoji and grins delightedly at his phone. “I can see it being the emojis,” He murmurs thoughtfully.

 

“Yeah, I guess,” Jihoon replies, shooting back a different emoji.

 

They continue to message emojis to each other, snickering every now and then, until a waitress comes to take their order.

 

She glances between them politely, turning her attention more towards Guanlin rather than Jihoon.

 

“Oh, I haven’t even looked at the menu yet,” Jihoon stammers, looking up from his phone.

 

“It’s fine. Everything’s in French anyway,” Guanlin says. “What do you like?”

 

“Uh… chicken?”

 

“We’ll have the Chicken Paillard and…” Guanlin glances over at Daniel who is trying to share his binky with the body guard who is holding him.

 

“ _Ah! Ah!”_ Daniel demands, pressing the tip of his binky harder into the man’s shut mouth. He grumbles with determination and begins to squeeze the man’s cheek, trying to get him to open up. “Yummy!” He insists.

 

But the body guard continues to look dully ahead, eyes cold and detached. His entire suit is drenched in slobber and his shades are falling, askew.

 

“Does he need anything?” Guanlin asks.

 

Jihoon looks over to the waitress. “Er, do you guys have orange juice?”

 

“Um… no.” The waitress says with a laugh, like not having _orange juice_ it’s the most obvious thing in the world.

 

Jihoon purses his lips. “Apple juice?

 

“No.”

 

“Any juice???”

 

“No.”

 

Jihoon sighs. He shouldn't even be surprised at this point. “It’s fine. He’ll survive. I don’t think any of these foods are soft enough for him to chew with his only two functioning teeth anyway.”

 

“R-Right,” The lady states. “Will that be all for you two?”

 

“Yeah,” Guanlin says.

 

And, with that, the waitress leaves.

 

It only takes a few moments for their food to come out, or maybe it just feels like that because Jihoon has fun spamming Guanlin with emojis and kicking him under the table when he sends a particularly stupid one. They start a silent war, aggressively sending each other things until there are plates of fancy chicken in front of them.

 

“Time out!” Jihoon demands, taking Guanlin’s phone from his hand and putting on the other end of the table. “It’s chicken time. I need to concentrate.”

 

Guanlin snickers. “Okay, okay.”

 

Jihoon licks his lips and takes absolutely no time to start digging into the chicken, fumbling with his utensils and cutting a piece. The second that the chicken in his mouth, Jihoon’s soul leaves his body and he’s in heaven yet again. He sighs in delight and also jealousy. The food rich people get to eat was _incredible_ and it saddens him to think that this could be the last time he’ll ever get to taste something this good.

 

Jihoon is only pulled from his chicken-euphoria when Daniel clambers out of the body guard’s grasp, and bends over the table towards Jihoon.

 

Daniel almost knocks over Jihoon’s glass of water, but the elder is quick enough (and experienced enough) to catch the glass before it fully tilts over.

 

“AH!!” Daniel yells, opening his mouth. His little fists grip at the table cloth and slightly jerks all their silverware out of position. “AH!!!” He yells again, bouncing lightly. The man tries to hold Daniel back, but the little baby is Strong and Determined, like most Parks are when it comes to food. And Jihoon would have been proud if Daniel wasn’t requesting to eat from his god tier chicken meal.

 

Jihoon sighs, seeing that the baby isn’t going to let up until he gets a taste of Jihoon’s lunch. So with a heart full of sadness, he cuts up a little slice of his chicken and pops it into the other’s mouth. “Fine, fine. Here,” He murmurs.

 

Daniel sits back and chews delightedly—well not really chews. He _sucks_ on the little piece of chicken before ultimately swallowing it whole since his little baby teeth are useless. He thinks for a second, the little gears in the baby’s tiny brain working at an extremely slow pace, and once he’s decided that he likes the chicken, he bursts into a wide grin and claps his hands. Wanting more, Daniel then bends over in the other direction, crawling up in front of Guanlin and yelling, “AH!! AH!!”

 

Jihoon flinches with embarrassment. “Oh, _uh_ , no. Daniel,” He says, trying to tug the baby back over. “Just eat some of hyung’s, okay?”

 

Daniel whines and shakes his head in response. “No!” He pulls away from Jihoon and almost crawls up and onto the table, moving closer to Guanlin who is looking at him with surprise. “AH!!!!” He yells again.

 

Jihoon begins to heat up. He should probably do something before Daniel accidentally breaks something—or do something to stop the other from drawing even more attention to them in the restaurant—so he moves to stand up so that he can grab Daniel, but before he can do so, Guanlin waves him off.

 

“It’s fine.” He chuckles. “I don’t mind.” He then cuts a teeny slice of his chicken off for Daniel and plops it into the baby’s open mouth.

 

Daniel swallows and bursts into a big, slobbery grin. He coos with happiness and Guanlin smiles at him back, laughing a little. “You like it?”

 

“Yummy!” Daniel hiccups.

 

And at this moment, Jihoon feels something melt inside of him but he doesn’t know what. “Wh-What do you say, Niel?” He stammers, forcing back the tingling sensation that crawls up the back of his neck.

 

Daniel screams in reply.

 

_Close enough._

 

They continue to eat and chat a little, keeping the same playful banter and snarky comments throughout their entire discussion. And soon enough, they finish their food, and Guanlin checks his watch. “Right on time,” He says. “Sorry I can’t stay any longer. I really have to go.”

 

“It’s fine,” Jihoon replies, smiling. “I mostly came for the free food anyway.”

 

Guanlin shoots him a small grin as well as he puts on his coat, adjusting his cuffs and straightening out his collar. Jihoon stands up too and turns to the poor body guard who is disheveled and tired, holding his baby brother who is now desperately trying to climb up and onto his head.

 

He takes Daniel and, instantly, the light in the man’s eyes return.

 

“Um, Jihoon?” Guanlin stammers shyly, turning to Jihoon, but keeping his eyes downcast—as if he were trying to hide his embarrassment. Jihoon catches a bit of red tinting the other’s cheeks which only confirms his observations further. “Is it okay if I keep texting you?” He asks with a hopeful ring in his voice.

 

“Well, yeah,” Jihoon snorts amusedly. “I didn’t give you my number to just take up memory on your phone.”

 

Guanlin looks at Jihoon and there’s a sparkle in his eyes. He nods. “I’ll see you around?”

 

“Sure. You still owe me a favor, remember?” Jihoon chimes.

 

“I suppose I do, don’t I?”

 

But before the taller can leave, Daniel speaks up, reaching out towards the body guard that he just spent his entire afternoon with.

 

And the man looks almost afraid.

 

“Kiss!” Daniel chants. “Bye-Bye kiss!”

 

Guanlin mumbles something to the other man in Chinese and the man looks warily at Guanlin, as if his eyes were pleading ‘no.’ Guanlin snickers and repeats what he said, and, with that, the guy gulps, leaning forwards.

 

Daniel plants a big smooch to the man’s cheek and giggles happily. “Bye-Bye!” He says, wiggling his little baby fingers.

 

The man nods curtly.

 

And just as they’re about to leave _again_ , Daniel turns to Guanlin this time. “Kiss! Kiss!” He says, grabbing at the other and leaning out of Jihoon’s grasp.

 

“Ah—Daniel,” Jihoon winces, flustered. He tries to hold the baby back, but Guanlin waves him off again.

 

“It’s fine,” He says with a chuckle. He leans forward and Daniel coos happily.

 

But just as Guanlin was about to turn his cheek to the baby, Daniel slaps his hands on either side of the taller boy’s face, and presses the biggest, most slobbery kiss onto Guanlin’s unexpecting mouth, making a wet kissing noise that seems to echo through the air—making time freeze for just a moment.

 

And in this moment, Guanlin yelps and his eyes widen in shock. And Jihoon’s face pales, his heart stopping in his chest.

 

It’s about three entire seconds, that seem to pass like _hours_ , when Daniel finally detaches from the other with a loud _POP!_ A bright grin, bursting on his face.

 

“Bye-bye!” Daniel waves innocently, looking to his elder brother expectantly, now ready to leave.

 

But Jihoon and Guanlin are paralyzed.

 

“I… I—” Jihoon starts. His voice gets caught in his throat and he snaps his mouth shut.

 

Guanin robotically straightens up, touching his face and blinking with confusion.

 

 _“I’M SO SORRY!”_ Jihoon gasps, hand flying up to his mouth in horror. “I-I—” He’s scared speechless.

 

Guanlin clears his throat and shakes his head as if he’d just waken up from the weirdest dream. “I-It’s fine,” he stammers, wiping his mouth with his sleeve and looking at the drool now coating it. He murmurs something that Jihoon doesn’t quite catch, but it sounds like something about “kissing” and “the wrong Park,” but Jihoon is too panicked to even connect the dots.

 

Daniel, the stupid baby, just continues to gurgle happily, gnawing on Rooney’s tail and looking between the two of them with glee in his eyes. _Curse Daniel’s little heart, full of endless amounts of love._

 

“I’ll text you later, okay?” Guanlin calls before walking off.

 

“Y-Yeah,” Jihoon stammers.

 

And as the other makes his way towards the door, Jihoon shoots Daniel the nastiest glare he can muster. “One of these days, you’re going to get in trouble.”

 

Daniel only giggles in response.

 

* * *

 

 

Guanlin feels his phone vibrate in his pocket and his reaction is uncontrollable just as much as it is understandable.

 

It’s Jihoon.

 

His heart flutters in his chest. He has to take a deep breath in order to will himself to concentrate on the little meeting he’d being forced to attend this particular afternoon. But he finds that hard to do, hands palming at his pocket and itching to check his phone for just a second.

 

His mother clears her throat at his side and Guanlin instantly snaps back into attention. “S-Sorry,” He stammers. “Can you repeat yourself please?”

 

Guanlin and his mom are seated across a table from a family of three. Guanlin knows the man as a long-time business partner that his father is well acquainted with, and the woman and teenager are people that he’s only met in passing. Or, at least, he _assumes_ that. He’s met far too many ‘important’ people in his life to remember every single face. But that’s aside from the point.

 

As like every year, he and his mom have a tradition of welcoming each of their business partners who are to attend their family’s New Year’s banquet, which is what they were doing now—or at least—what Guanlin _should_ be doing now. But his mind is obviously elsewhere.

 

“We were just mentioning how incredible your last charity project was,” The man states. “We heard you organized it on your own?”

 

“Ah, yes,” Guanlin nods. “It wasn’t that big; I just wanted to find some way to share presents with the kids who probably won’t be getting much this Christmas season, and I was lucky enough that many people were willing to sponsor the event and participate. But thank you anyway.”

 

The man smiles. “My boy here,” He gestures towards his son who Guanlin only recognizes from previous business events and other random meetings around the company, “could probably learn a thing or two from you,” He says with a chuckle. “You really are a brilliant kid, Lai Guanlin.”

 

“You’re too kind,” Guanlin smiles as sweetly as he can.

 

“And you’re too modest,” He replies.

 

Everyone laughs politely, and in the midst of all their chuckling, Guanlin’s attention immediately derails once his phone vibrates in his pocket again.

 

He flinches and has to stop himself from picking the device up to look at it. But it’s then that he hears his mom take over the conversation, idly chit-chatting about things that probably won’t concern Guanlin for the next few minutes, so as sneakily as he can, he slides his phone out of his pocket and glances at the messages.

 

**Jihoon (2:32PM)**

\- u kno, i was looking through a few articles about u recently and they’re not very accurate  
\- ur not as charming as they say u are  
\- fake

 

Guanlin snickers and punches back a reply.

 

**Guanlin (2:36PM)**

Is that any way to talk to the person who just treated you out to free lunch? -

 

**Jihoon (2:36PM)**

\- ur right. im sorry.  
\- pls forgive me ur majesty

 

**Guanlin (2:37PM)**

I’ll consider your apology later.-

 

He then slips his phone back into his pocket and tries to listen to whatever his mom and their family’s business partners are conversing about. But he soon realizes that listening to them is hopeless because all he can think about is one particular person who just always seems to be on his mind these days: Park Jihoon.

 

From the moment he ran into Jihoon at the slopes, Guanlin was more than intrigued by the other. He was compelled from the start—fascinated to learn more about him and drawn the longer they talked. He came to realize that he wanted Jihoon’s attention more and more, trying to pull different reactions out of him and testing to see who Jihoon truly was—if there was a motive behind that charming face and fiery attitude. And as time passed, Guanlin could easily conclude that Jihoon was probably the most interesting person that he has ever met.

 

From then on, it was like the other had taken over his mind. He wonders if he has consumed Jihoon’s thoughts just as much as Jihoon has consumed his—and he wonders if Jihoon was just as interested in him as he was interested in Jihoon. He finds it hard to keep himself composed in the other's presence and, embarrassingly enough, he has to stop himself from getting lost just staring at him—admiring every little detail. And for some reason, his heartbeat always seems to jump in pace whenever he lays eyes on him.

 

Maybe, Guanlin was just enchanted by Jihoon. He wanted to learn more about the other and grow closer to him as best as he could. But Guanlin has never been the one to initiate friendships before, and he’s never been the type to have many friends, _for status reasons mostly_...

 

“Guanlin?” He hears his mom say.

 

“Ah, yes?” Guanlin flinches, looking around. He notices that all eyes are on him and he clears his throat. “Oh, I’m sorry. I’m just a bit sleepy from yesterday,” He lies.

 

“It’s alright,” The woman replies this time. She flashes a grin at Guanlin. “We were just saying how you and our son are close in age. Maybe sometime you two could hang out sometime?” She asks.

 

Guanlin freezes. He looks towards the boy who is staring at him with a look that Guanlin knows all too well. “Um, of course,” Guanlin replies politely.

 

“Lovely,” She nods.

 

And after a few more moments of talking, they all stand up to shake hands and greet each other a farewell.

 

“I hope you’ll enjoy your stay at the resort this year,” His mother says, a wide smile plastered to her face. She shakes their hands warmly.

 

“We always do. This year shouldn’t be any different,” The man responds with a hearty laugh.

 

When Guanlin turns to shake the boy’s hand, the other pauses, grip still tight around Guanlin’s fingers. “Did you want to get lunch together?” He asks with a pleasant grin—a pleasant grin that Guanlin can see right through. “I’d really like to get to know you better.”

 

Guanlin smiles back just as politely as the other. It’s always the same with these kinds of people—they always have the same look in their eyes. They don’t want Guanlin, they want his status—they want his _power_. “Maybe another time? I already ate out today.”

 

The boy pauses and his smile falters a bit. “With who?”

 

“It’s none of your concern,” Guanlin chirps.

 

“Was it that poor boy?” He asks, eyes slightly narrowing at the other.

 

Guanlin flinches and the boy almost smirks at him. “ _He_ is of none of your concern as well,” Guanlin replies, voice passively threatening.

 

The boy hums in displeasure and, after a few more moments, he finally lets go of Guanlin’s hand. “Well then, I’ll hold you to lunch for another time, I suppose. I’ll see you around?”

 

“Sure,” Guanlin says.

 

And, with that, the family leaves.

 

Guanlin lets out a breath that he didn’t know he was holding in and runs his fingers through his hair in exhaustion.

 

“Guanlin, sweetie?” His mother says, resting her hand lightly on Guanlin’s shoulder.

 

Guanlin turns to look at his mom. “Yes?”

 

“I haven’t seen you this distracted before. Is something wrong?”

 

“Nothing’s wrong,” Guanlin replies quickly.

 

But his mother knows better and she smiles, tugging Guanlin along to walk with her, arm firmly linked with her son’s as he escorts her. “I hear that you’ve been going out more frequently.”

 

“Ah, _uh_ , yes,” Guanlin confirms hesitantly. “I made a friend.”

 

She gasps. “You did?”

 

Guanlin flushes bashfully, fidgeting under his mother’s excited eyes. “Yes?”

 

“I’m so happy for you!” She coos lovingly, squeezing his arm and patting his back. “What family is this person from? Have I met them?”

 

“He’s not from… um… a ‘ _family,’_ ” Guanlin responds.

 

“What do you mean?”

 

“I mean he’s not… wealthy,” He breathes.

 

His mother blinks at him. “Then how did you meet him?”

 

“At the resort.”

 

“How did he make it onto this resort?”

 

“His family won the trip,” Guanlin explains, curling in on himself the longer he talks to his mother about this.

 

“Oh, I see,” She replies thoughtfully. She pauses for a second before continuing. “Yeah, I think I heard that a branch from the company was holding a raffle like that.”

 

Guanlin hums and, with that, they silently begin to walk outside of their meeting room, heading towards one of the private lobbies for his family to stay.

 

“What’s he like?” She suddenly asks once they stand inside the elevator.

 

“Interesting, I guess? I really enjoy talking to him,” Guanlin states, a shy smile spreading across his features.

 

And, unexpectedly, his mother grins as well. “You know, you’ve been smiling a lot more recently.”

 

“Have I?”

 

She nods, and on cue, Guanlin’s phone goes off in his pocket again and he finds that Jihoon has sent him another stupid emoji.

 

Guanlin smiles.

 

But before he can reply with an emoji equally as dumb, he thinks to himself that maybe his mother was right. He was a bit happier than usual.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I am literally the biggest nerd in the entire world and coming up with flirty dialogue is the hardest thing for my socially awkward brain to handle rip lolololol
> 
> Also, I should tell u guys, my winter break is over and i am officially back in school. :0 that means…………… expect slower updates :( /cries into my hands. I'll still try my best to update at least either this fic or sotd every week so hopefully, there's that!! But Im taking a ton of STEM classes this semester so my ass is about to get blasted super hard, I can feel it throbbing already ;_; (rip my butthole). But I promise I'll keep working hard to get something out! I actually find writing very enjoyable :'D as of right now, its my favorite pastime and it really helps me escape from a lot of real world stresses *u* SO THANK U FOR READING WHAT I HAVE TO SHARE WITH U GUYS :D I love telling stories *u*
> 
> Anyway, I hope u guys enjoyed this chapter! Sorry it was a bit slow at the end, but I promise what I said here was all very important lolololol AS ALWAYS, THANK U GUYS FOR READING! AND I'D LOVE TO HEAR UR THOUGHTS <3333 i'll proofread this again later akldjs i just really wanted to get this out!!!! BUT ANYWAY, i'll see u guys at the next update!!! until then, my loves! <3
> 
> (twt @onguanlinnie / cc @coppercoin - if u want me to follow u back just introduce urself to me and i will *u* i want friends :0)


	6. Chapter 6

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> OH MY GOD ITS BEEN LIKE A MONTH………..

Jihoon finds himself cashing in his favor from the previous day a bit earlier than he’d like. But considering the situation he finds himself in during his required “one hour outside a day” obligation, he really has no choice.

 

He finds himself standing next to a sign pointing in the direction of a forest hiking trail located on the East most side of the resort, and there, he is frozen with his finger hovering over the ‘call’ button right next to the name of a person who he has come to tolerate (and/or unwillingly befriend) during his time at the resort: Lai Guanlin.

 

Jihoon thinks that he has the minimum amount of people skills in order to pass off as ‘normal’ and not socially incompetent, but he doesn’t have enough to confidently decide his next course of action.

 

 _Should he just… call Guanlin?_ Is what he asks himself like it were the most significant conundrum on the entire planet (which it is, shut up). But, again, it’s not like he has a choice; the sun is rapidly setting now and the minutes tick by a lot quicker than Jihoon feels like they should. In short, he’s in a pickle. The same pickle that he found himself choking on a week prior to the pickle he is battling with right now.

 

The digital clock on his phone increases one minute closer to 6PM and Jihoon mentally punches himself in the face, screaming at himself to _MAN UP YOU COWARD!_ And that insult alone almost pressures him to tap the ‘call’ button _because Park Jihoon is No Coward_ , but he freezes when he remembers it’s Lai Guanlin he’s about to dial. Even though they’ve been texting on and off since the day before, Jihoon still feels like there’s a gap between them—a financial gap, if you will—and calling the heir feels a bit too friendly considering the circumstances. Besides, Jihoon has already attracted far too much attention than what he is comfortable with; hanging out with Guanlin at this resort. And the fact that he’d only be drawing even _more_ unwanted attention to himself if he called the other wasn’t exactly the most… _productive_ way to solve his issue.

 

The clock ticks forward again and Jihoon almost outright screams.

 

He’s frustrated now and, acting on sheer impulse, he tosses all his previous hindrances out the window and tells himself _“Fuck it.”_ Because that smug little rich boy still owes him a favor and if Guanlin can force him out on an impromptu lunch date, then Jihoon sure as hell can drag him out into a forest in the middle of the night.

 

With that, he slams his thumb on the _‘call’_ button, sealing his fate, and almost vomits when the static of the receiver blasts in his ears.

 

“G-GUANLIN!” Jihoon chokes out a bit louder than he’d like.

 

“Jihoon?” He hears the familiar, accented voice say to him. “What’s wrong? Couldn’t you have just texted—”

 

“I NEED YOUR HELP,” He cries, “It’s an… emergency.” Jihoon mentally face palms himself.

 

“What? Why? It’s almost night—”

 

“NO TIME FOR QUESTIONS!” He spits out as casually as he can, “You owe me a favor, remember? Now get your butt over here as soon as possible, I’ll text you the location.”

 

And just as Guanlin is about to say something, Jihoon hangs up.

 

 _That went pretty well._ He thinks. But when Guanlin shows up five minutes later, disheveled and out of breath, eyes wide and frenzied, Jihoon observes that maybe he could have worded things a bit… less extreme. But considering his combined nervousness and _anticipation_ for what’s about to ensue, his urgency is understandable to some odd degree.

 

“What is it Jihoon?” He gasps worriedly. Guanlin searches the other but Jihoon just grabs Guanlin by the arm and begins to haul him down the trail.

 

“I’ll tell you on the way.”

 

“Where are you taking me?” Guanlin stumbles after him.

 

“Exactly where the sign says.”

 

Guanlin turns around and squints towards the sign labeling the direction of the resort’s forest, and after deciphering the rapidly diminishing words, he whips back to Jihoon and asks frantically, “Why there of all places? You’re… not trying to kill me are you? Look, I’m really sorry about dragging you out like that yesterday but this is a bit—”

 

“I’m not going to do anything to you, stupid!!” Jihoon snaps. “You’re going to be my partner again.”

 

“What do you mean?”

 

“There’s a new event taking place and I need you to participate in it with me.”

 

Guanlin grinds to a halt, tugging his arm back and forcing Jihoon to spin around. “ _Wait, wait, wait_ … that’s it? This is your emergency?” He stares hard at the shorter for a second. “ _This_ is what you want to use your favor on?”

 

“Look, I would have chosen anyone else at this resort but unfortunately for the both of us, I’m a bit limited on friends right now. Besides, _you_ still owe me for the fiasco you pulled yesterday,” Jihoon then begins to turn around and continue walking, but before he does, he adds, “And to answer your other question, yes. Because my sister is participating in this event again and there’s nothing more rewarding than basking in the light of her jealousy.”

 

With a prideful sneer, Jihoon spins on his heels and marches off with Guanlin following in tow.

 

“I wasn’t complaining,” Guanlin says after a few moments down the twisting road. “Just surprised is all.”

 

“Why?” Jihoon hums.

 

“It’s nothing,” Guanlin smirks happily to himself, but Jihoon catches it when he looks over his shoulder. “Thanks though,” the taller adds with a glint in his eyes.

 

“For what?” Jihoon snorts.

 

“Choosing me to be your partner.”

 

“Like I said, I didn’t have a choice,” He snickers under his breath.

 

 _“Mhm,”_ Guanlin chirps, obviously not buying it and interpreting Jihoon’s request completely incorrect.

 

But something inside Jihoon wanted to let him believe it, so with a playful roll of his eyes, he sighs, “Whatever.”

 

And, with that, Guanlin continues to grin and the nervous lump in Jihoon’s throat mysteriously begins to dissipate.

 

By the time they get to the edge of the forest, the sun has already set, and they find an entire area lit up by colorful LED lights with one, massive spotlight pointing into the air like a beacon. This particular event is a bit livelier and _a bit_ more crowded too, considering the attention that the first event garnered, so when Jihoon and Guanlin finally pull up to the registration desk, the chatter stutters and heads turn to gawk at the unlikely duo who made such a commotion during the last competition.

 

Jihoon’s neck burns and the lump in his throat returns, and he tries to drown out the sound of everyone’s whispers as they sign up. Although he can’t make out their words for certain, he knows that whatever they’re saying can’t be anything in his favor, but he ultimately wills himself to ignore them because the alternative to not having Guanlin as a partner is not participating at all—and he can’t do that. Not when winning last time felt so _good._ On top of that, his sister had outright _baited_ him into it…

 

_“It’s another event,” Nayoung had snapped at him when Jihoon complained for five whole minutes, asking, ‘where are we goooinnggg,’ ‘why are you walking so fassstt,’ with his feet dragging the entire way._

_He didn’t want to be going outside. Especially with Nayoung again (ew). But when he heard those three words grunt out of her disgusting mouth, a slight spark of excitement ignited in his stomach, and instead of being 100% angry he was being forced outside, the feeling dropped to about a solid 95.99%._

_“Sounds exciting,” Jihoon had whispered to her with the biggest shit-eating grin he could muster up._

_And not even having to turn around, Nayoung could feel her brother’s annoying facial expression boring into the back of her skull. She rolled her eyes, huffing, and stated, “If you pull another stunt like you did last time, I’m making sure that the event organizers find your body dead in a ditch in the middle of the forest.”_

 

_So, it’s in a forest. At night. How thrilling, he shivered with anticipation. “What’s the matter? Are you scared of losing again?” Jihoon taunted._

_Nayoung scoffed and crossed her arms. “As if, moron. You got lucky last time—and after what your dumbass did, they tacked a new ‘no sabotaging’ rule to the events. So technically, you cheated,” She reprimanded. “And, besides, looks like your partner isn’t here to magically appear and save you. So, have fun standing by and watching!”_

_With a wave and a smirk, she sauntered off in the direction of the forest, leaving Jihoon with two ways he needed to show her up; one involving a phone call he was very reluctant to make. But whatever._

 

So, yeah. Jihoon really had no choice. His pride was on the line yet again, and in addition, he just really hates his sister, _if that wasn’t obvious already_.

 

After the pair signs up, the event organizer—the same lady from the previous competition—closes applications about three minutes afterwards and presses her microphone to her mouth. “Hello and welcome, ladies and gentlemen, to the second competition of the Hundred Seasons Resort’s thirty-first annual Winter Games Event!”

 

Everyone quiets and listens up—both participants and spectators alike.

 

She continues to greet everyone, list rules, and recites the history behind this particular event, before she finally gets on with the information Jihoon is actually interested, announcing, “Here is how the competition is going to work: Each of you will be given a flashlight, a flare gun, and a different colored tag. Somewhere deep within this forest, there is a tag with your team’s respective color, and we’ll be giving you all one hour to find it.” She then positions herself next to the massive spotlight, placing a hand on it, and continues, “The first team to touch this spotlight _with_ their tag in hand will be deemed the winner and earn their prize.” She holds up a manila envelope—similar to the one from the previous event. “And to signify that the competition is over and you may return to the clearing, we will sound a horn.”

 

The event organizer then continues, “As a precaution, the flare guns are given so that you can signal us just in case something happens. But this forest is a lot smaller than it looks and very much safe. If you get lost, just look to the sky for the beacon and follow the light!”

 

She then passes out tags to each group and dismisses them for three minutes of preparation.

 

Jihoon looks down at the red tag in his hand and catches a blue one in his sister’s. He’s about to turn and address Guanlin, when suddenly, he sees a group of spectators pointing out to the different groups and whispering amongst each other. They take out their wallets and begin unfurling wads of cash, placing it in piles on the table and talking excitedly to each other.

 

Jihoon tilts his head curiously, but he’s pulled from his observations when Guanlin suddenly asks, “How do we even prepare for an event like this?”

 

“What do you mean?” He questions back distractedly.

 

“You can’t just _prepare_ yourself to find something,” Guanlin explains. He then pauses and follows Jihoon’s line of sight. “Ah, I’ve heard of this.”

 

“What are they doing?” Jihoon asks.

 

“Nothing you should worry about. They’re just placing bets on what team they think is going to win.”

 

“Did they do that last time?”

 

“No. From what I hear, the first event is mostly for scouting out what kind of kids are participating in the events this year. It’s all in good fun, nothing too serious.”

 

“Hm,” Jihoon hums. “Whatever. It doesn’t change anything. We’re still going to win—we _have_ to.” He then begins to bounce in place anxiously, staring hard at the forest with a challenging glare and Determined to grind his sister into the dirt with his victory.

 

Guanlin snickers amusedly. “You’re very competitive, you know that? You’re probably the most uptight person at this _luxury_ vacation resort—you should learn to relax a little,” He chides teasingly.

 

Jihoon scoffs. “I’ll relax after we win.”

 

Guanlin snorts at the other’s enthusiasm. “So, what’s the plan this time?”

 

“Just follow me.”

 

“Last time we did that, I almost broke my arm.”

 

“That sounds like a you problem.”

 

“My arm is very expensive,” Guanlin comments.

 

“Boo-hoo,” Jihoon mocks him in response. “Where’s the fun in these stupid, little rich people games if someone doesn’t get hurt every once in a while, hm?”

 

Guanlin only laughs.

 

Soon, the event organizer calls for everyone’s attention again and commands them to line up in front of the first layers of trees at the entrance of the forest. Jihoon can feel the adrenaline pumping into his veins now and the squeezes at their tag lodged deep within his pocket. He is going to find this tag and _win_ no matter what it takes and prove to Nayoung (and highkey everyone else at this god-forsaken resort) that, once again, he is a gaming mastermind and all around Tactical Genius.

 

The event organizer takes no time pressing the microphone to her mouth again, and raising a starting pistol into the air, she counts down, “On your marks… Get set… _GO!”_ And fires.

 

The sound booms throughout the quiet night, and immediately, everyone sprints into the forest, separating into different directions. And Jihoon begins to do that too, that is, until he realizes that his partner decides to take a casual stroll instead, keeping up with Jihoon at the minimum speed required so that he doesn’t fully fall behind, but is still going far too slow for Jihoon’s liking.

 

“WHAT ARE YOU DOING??” Jihoon growls, stomping back and grabbing Guanlin’s free arm since his other hand is occupied; limply holding the flashlight in front of them. “We have to walk fast,” He commands firmly.

 

“Why?” Guanlin smirks, and Jihoon feels a vein pop in his forehead; face heating up with irritation.

 

He tries to drag Guanlin a bit faster and the taller just takes longer strides—longer, _slower_ strides. “Why are you walking so slow??” Jihoon hisses, yanking on his arm and slipping on the snowy trail when he tries to pull. “Everyone is getting ahead of us!” He whines.

 

“Think about it logically, Jihoon,” Guanlin explains, still walking at what the shorter feels is a snail’s pace. Jihoon huffs and glares up at him. “There’s no guarantee that our tag is somewhere deep within this forest, just as there’s no guarantee that it’s somewhere near the entrance as well. Walking fast only increases the amount of ground we cover, but at the same time it decreases the amount of time we spend to thoroughly scan our surroundings, and by the sound of it, our tag is quite tiny—easy to miss—so putting the chance that this tag could be _anywhere_ in this entire forest into consideration, _and_ that fact that this is purely a game of luck, I think taking things slowly will alter things in our favor.” He then smiles. “Don’t you think?”

 

Jihoon grumbles deep and low in his chest, scowling at the other and huffing defiantly through his nostrils. “Well, considering that we have _two_ eyes searching rather than one, I say we should walk fast,” Jihoon presents.

 

“The best we can do is ‘strategically stumble’ on it. And besides, you know what they say, _‘What you’re looking for comes when you’re not looking for it at all,’”_ Guanlin recites cheekily.

 

Jihoon grits his teeth, exasperated by the other’s unwavering persistence. He glares at him as hard as he can, but when Guanlin only meets his gaze with that same, steady look, the hairs on the back of his neck rise in flustered anger and Jihoon bursts. “FINE!  But if we lose and it’s your fault then _I’m_ —” He exhales furiously. “I-I’m never talking to you again!” Jihoon decides. He marches away and heats up in embarrassment, peeved that he couldn’t come up with a better threat than that.

 

 _Curse that stupid brat and his logical bullshit._ Jihoon is right—he’s the leader here—and no 17-year-old _“prodigy”_ is going to tell him what’s right and what’s wrong.

 

With another snicker, Guanlin trails after the shorter, leisurely skimming the flashlight up into the trees and searching. “If we lose, I bet it’ll be your fault,” He hums after some time.

 

Jihoon is on his last nerve now, and he purses his lips, whipping around and gripping at Guanlin’s sleeve, forcing out a _“Come on”_ as he tries to quicken their pace as much as Guanlin will allow him.

 

The other just smiles in amusement.

 

\---

 

It’s about ten minutes into the competition and the pair finds themselves walking along a rigid, snowy path. By then, they’re surrounded with nothing but thick trees; the tops parting just enough so that they can catch flickered glimpses of the stars twinkling up in the deep blue, winter sky.

 

The time ticks on like hours, and while Jihoon’s determination to win is still thrumming throughout his body, the vigor he had at the beginning of the event rapidly dwindles until eventually, there’s barely anything left. He starts to slow in pace, grudgingly falling in step with Guanlin’s easy strides as they continue to look up into the trees and search _everywhere_ in hopes to find a stripe of red paper.

 

“This is taking forever,” Jihoon grumbles. He begins to wonder if people have already found their tags—and more importantly—he wonders if his sister found hers. They haven’t run into any other teams and, at this point, it doesn’t seem like they ever will since the forest around them is eerily quiet; save for the crunching of the snow beneath their feet and the rustling of leaves whenever the wind picks up slightly. He starts to feel disheartened and horribly irritated.

 

“We can take this time to learn more about each other,” Guanlin offers.

 

“ _Or_ , we can keep searching,” Jihoon suggests impatiently.

 

He then tugs at Guanlin’s sleeve and leads them down a new path that twists and turns deeper into the forest, and Guanlin flicks the flashlight up into the trees, humming and scanning the branches there.

 

It’s silent for a few dragging moments when Guanlin suddenly takes an airy breath, mentioning, _“So,_ if you had to choose between being blind or being deaf, which would it be?”

 

“I don’t think you’re taking this game seriously,” Jihoon retorts idly, still examining the trees for a flash of red.

 

“In respect, I think you’re taking this game a bit too seriously. You’ve already won against your sister, what more do you have to prove?”

 

Jihoon faces the other now. “Look, Guanlin, this is war. I can’t just win against my sister _once._ I have to do it over and over again until she realizes that _I’m_ the superior sibling. My life and my honor are on the line right now—this is my _dignity_ we’re talking about—I don’t think you understand the sheer weight that this game holds to me. If I don’t win this competition and _every other stupid event_ that this resort has to offer, then I’m nothing.”

 

Guanlin snickers, “Alright, _alright._ _Yeesh_ —we’ll keep searching.”

 

They walk on for a few moments in silence, and Jihoon finds himself bored out of his mind, staggering a bit to the side and sluggishly looking around now. He kicks around a rock for a few meters, and when it disappears under a bush, he slumps his shoulders, turning to the other. “Deaf,” He exhales defeatedly.

 

“Huh?”

 

“I’m answering your dumb question. I’d rather be deaf,” He elaborates with an irritated sharpness in his tone.

 

Guanlin hums, pleased that Jihoon was giving into his little game and Jihoon rolls his eyes for the nth time today. “Why?” The taller asks.

 

“Because if I’m blind, then I can’t play video games.”

 

“Ah,” Guanlin nods. “Figured as much.”

 

Their slow steps begin to fill the air again and Jihoon reluctantly decides to humor the other. “What about you? Blind or deaf?”

 

“Blind.”

 

“Really? Why?” That seems really impractical to Jihoon.

 

“I feel like it’s harder to communicate if you’re deaf,” He reasons after a few moments of deliberation. “And, besides, I wouldn’t be able to listen to music if I couldn’t hear, and I don’t think I could give that up.”

 

Jihoon startles at this new tidbit of information. “You like music? What kind?”

 

“Rap.”

 

“That’s unexpected.”

 

“Really? How so?”

 

“I don’t know,” Jihoon mumbles. “Guess I just always took you for a classical music kinda guy—orchestras and stuff. Something more refined and… _boring_.”

 

Guanlin snickers at the comment. “You act like I’m fifty years old. Just because I dress a bit more formally than most doesn’t mean that I need to act like so.” With that, Guanlin turns to look at Jihoon now and, for some reason, Jihoon feels as though learning this new thing about him has opened his eyes a little—as if he were seeing a normal teenager rather than some classist asshole that everyone else at the resort seemed to be.

 

But he pushes that realization back and Jihoon doesn’t reply any further.

 

They search a bit longer and Guanlin suddenly speaks up again, “Um… favorite… _flavor of ice cream_.”

 

Jihoon snorts. “Are we really going to keep continuing this?”

 

“What’s wrong with it? We’re still being productive,” He notes.

 

“Fair enough,” Jihoon snickers, biting back a grin. He sighs and wracks his brain for an answer. “Probably just vanilla.”

 

“And you were accusing _me_ of being boring,” Guanlin mock gasps. “The _gall_...”

 

“Shut up!” Jihoon barks, shoving him a little. “Why? What’s your favorite flavor of ice cream, _huh?”_

 

“Chocolate.”

 

“See, you are boring!” He argues.

 

Guanlin laughs, and for some reason, Jihoon finds himself laughing as well.

 

They stroll on, looking through every nook and cranny of the forest, and going through even more dumb questions (for Guanlin’s sake), until Jihoon suddenly spots something out of the corner of his eyes.

 

He blinks for a few moments, motioning for the taller to slow down, and when he realizes it’s exactly what he thinks it is, he freezes.

 

“Oh my god,” He gasps loudly, sprinting over to the tree.

 

“What is it? Did you find our tag?” Guanlin queries. He follows closely behind and bends around Jihoon’s shoulder to glance at what the shorter found.

 

“No! _But look!”_ Jihoon squeals elatedly. He rips the blue tag from the tree and presents it to Guanlin.

 

“That’s not our tag.”

 

“Obviously,” Jihoon rolls his eyes. But then a smirk takes over his features. “It’s my _sister’s_ tag!” He whispers in excitement. “I saw her color before the event started!”

 

Guanlin snorts. “You’re not gonna…”

 

“Hell yeah I am!” Jihoon cuts him off. He then jogs a few meters off the trail and stealthily shove the tag deep within a bush; stomping on it for good measure.

 

“Isn’t that against the rules now?” Guanlin points out, chuckling as Jihoon continues to mercilessly plow his foot into the shrubbery, burying the tag impossibly further.

 

“Only if you get caught!”

 

Guanlin breaks out into full-blown laughter and, at the sound of it, Jihoon joins along, clutching his sides and doubling over.

 

After successfully concealing the tag away, Jihoon sighs in relief with a large, blissful smile spreading across his face. His victory is basically secured now, and it’s then that a weight seems to lift from his shoulders and the air between the pair grows lighter.

 

Still laughing with the other, he ushers for Guanlin to keep walking with him and they continue their quest to find their tag.

 

They fall in step together and continue to search endlessly; Guanlin’s questioning never ceasing in the process. And with time, Jihoon finds the other to be quite entertaining.

 

“If you were the main character to a movie, would you rather be the hero or villain?”

 

“Hero.”

 

Guanlin scoffs. “Lame. _Villain.”_

 

“Why?”

 

“Seems more exciting that way,” the taller shrugs.

 

“Ah,” is all Jihoon says.

 

“If you… _had a super power_ , what would you choose?”

 

“Easy,” Jihoon replies without even needing to think. “Mind reading. You?”

 

Guanlin hums. “I think I’d want to fly.”

 

“That’s so basic,” Jihoon claims. “Why would you choose flying of all things?”

 

“Why not? How is mind reading any cooler then, hm?”

 

“Because then I’d know what people are thinking about me,” He says quietly. There’s then a silence, and he clears his throat before continuing with a bit more pep in his voice, “That, and so I can predict people’s next moves in PVP’s.”

 

Guanlin thinks on Jihoon’s response a bit longer than the shorter would like, and Jihoon feels himself beginning shrink as the other continues to deliberate on it. After what feels like an hour of being scrutinized, Guanlin finally speaks up again.

 

“If it’s any consolation to you…” The taller chooses his words carefully, his voice soft and assuring, “I think that you’re quite… fascinating.”

 

Jihoon snorts at the unexpected response. “ _Fascinating?_ ” He repeats. “Was that supposed to be a compliment?”

 

“You should take it as so,” Guanlin affirms decisively.

 

And for some stupid, unknown reason, Jihoon’s chest lightens and his heart skips a beat. He’s really glad that it’s dark out and that their only source of light was pointed at the trees—because Jihoon can feel his face heating up, and he manages to murmur out a soft, “sure. _whatever.”_

 

Suddenly, they hear a blast from somewhere off behind them, and a yellow flare shoots up into the sky; illuminating the forest around them and twinkling like a firework.

 

They spin around and watch as the light bursts, and then trickles out into dust and smoke.

 

“I wonder what happened,” Guanlin muses once the sky darkens again.

 

But Jihoon barely hears him, because the second that the flare shot up into the sky, it shines upon something red and fluttering in the wind; stuck up high onto a tree branch.

 

Jihoon gasps loudly, nearly shrieking. “GUANLIN! LOOK!” He grabs the taller boy’s arm. “THERE IT IS!! OUR TAG!” He exclaims.

 

The rush of victory torrents down his veins, instantly regaining his lost energy, and Jihoon finds himself soaring on the fact that _THERE WAS NOTHING STOPPING THEM NOW._

 

He scurries over to the tree branch and reaches up for it, jumping up and down and only scraping at it with his fingernails. Defeated, he whips around and yells at Guanlin (who amusedly watches him from afar— _that brat_ ), “You get it, you skyscraper of a human being.”

 

And when Guanlin casually strolls up to the tree, taking his sweet, _sweet_ time reaching up for it, Jihoon loses his mind and growls, “HURRY!! WE HAVE TO GO!”

 

He touches the tag with his fingers, but before he pulls it down, he grins down at the shorter. “Not until you say I was right.”

 

Humiliation drops like a boulder in his stomach, and his skin prickles with embarrassment. Jihoon has never wanted to punch a person more than he has right now and he absolutely Fumes. _“Don’t do this_ ,” He threatens the other with irritation dripping in his voice like venom.

 

But when the other doesn’t budge—only continuing to egg him on with an annoying twinkle in his eye—Jihoon whimpers, gripping at his hair and stomping around.

 

“ _ARGH_ —ALRIGHT! FINE!” Jihoon barks. “You were right, I was wrong—slow and steady wins the race and all that bullshit _Ha Ha—_ now grab the tag and let’s GO.”

 

With a smirk, Guanlin rips the tag from the tree and hands it over to Jihoon.

 

“YES!” He squeals, kissing it and grasping at Guanlin’s hand. “LET’S GO! WE DON’T HAVE MUCH TIME!”

 

He finds the spotlight instantly—glowing like a beacon in the sky—and promptly rushes towards it.

 

And it’s only about three meters later that Jihoon hears something snag, and suddenly the ground is rushing towards him at an alarmingly fast speed. He blacks out for a second and wakes up moments later with his mouth stuffed with snow and a sharp pain shooting up from his ankle, causing him to cry out.

 

Guanlin manages to break free from Jihoon’s hold before he too is dragged down, and when Jihoon can hear anything other than ringing in his ears, he catches the sound of Guanlin snickering.

 

The tall boy crouches down next to Jihoon, peering over him and helping him up into a sitting position. “Do you always act this rashly?”

 

Jihoon grumbles in embarrassment—mortification slithering up his spine and burning at his cheeks. He sits up and spits out snow.

 

“This reminds me of the first time we met,” Guanlin hums, dusting the flakes off the shorter’s beanie.

 

“Shut up,” Jihoon hisses.

 

Guanlin rises and helps Jihoon up, but once he puts weight onto his left foot, an unbearable pain shoots up his leg again and he goes crumbling to the ground with a broken yelp.

 

Guanlin’s eyes widen, steadying him to the floor. “A-Are you actually hurt?”

 

“NO!” Jihoon instinctively replies. He cowers in on himself and thinks, _God, this is the worst_. He continues to sit there with his arms crossed, stomach burning in embarrassment over the fact that _Guanlin told him to take things slowly and Jihoon was probably the biggest idiot in the world._ He refuses to face the other, and it’s finally Guanlin’s turn to roll his eyes when he kneels down again, shucking off Jihoon’s shoe and taking hold of his foot.

 

“Tell me when it starts to hurt.”

 

Jihoon’s pride melts into the snow and he growls defiantly, flinching and biting back a hiss when Guanlin begins to roll his foot on his ankle, testing to see how bad the damage is. And when he adds a bit more pressure, Jihoon inhales sharply and, on reflex, kicks Guanlin in the face.

 

_“OW—”_

 

“Oh fuck! I’m—” Jihoon gasps. But his initial worry turns into a snort when Guanlin scowls at him back. _That's what he gets for teasing him._ _“Whoops._ My bad. _”_

 

Guanlin rubs his jaw, huffing at the other. “Do you think get up?” He finally asks.

 

“Of course I can get up,” Jihoon says, trying to power through the pain. But once he takes a step forward, his knee buckles out and he bites his lip trying to stifle the whine that escapes from his mouth.

 

“You twisted your ankle,” Guanlin mentions the obvious.

 

“No, I didn’t,” He denies.

 

“Yes, you did.”

 

“Okay maybe I did. But it doesn’t hurt that bad.”

 

Guanlin’s face warps into one of extreme doubt. “You’re lying.”

 

“Shut up! I’m not!”

 

He takes another few steps forward and tries to match with Guanlin’s strides, but ultimately, the pain is too intolerable and he whimpers out a soft, “ _Fuck.”_

Guanlin sighs. “You’re always getting yourself hurt.”

 

“Yeah and for some reason, you’re always there,” Jihoon retorts. He sighs angrily, embarrassed over the fact that the other is seeing him in a weakened state and also mortified that he’s being babied like this. Jihoon thinks that maybe he was a horrible person— _a murderer of orphans_ —in his previous life because for some reason he can never catch a break. _And things were just looking up for him again…_

“I can carry you,” Guanlin suddenly suggests.

 

Jihoon almost chokes on his spit, face scorching. “WHAT?” He shrieks.

 

“We still have to win, right?” Guanlin says. “We’re not going to at the pace you’re walking.”

 

 _“I’m not getting on your back.”_ Jihoon snarls in response. He continues to limp along side with Guanlin and, not even a second later, he’s stopped again.

 

“It’s not good for you to keep walking on your ankle like that, and you’ll just harm yourself even further.”

 

Jihoon stays silent, letting his words seep under his skin and light him on fire. He feels his heart drop into his stomach and he’s absolutely torn.

 

“Just accept my help, don’t you want to win? What happened to that, huh?”

 

“W-Well, of course I want to win…” Jihoon stammers out. But his pride and his honor wouldn’t let him; and the sheer mental image of him actually having to accept help from the other isn’t the most enticing idea—let alone the fact that he’d never get to live it down if he walked up into the event with the other like _that_.

 

But Jihoon is still wary; and Guanlin senses his reluctance. “How about this; before we get back into the clearing, you can hop off and we’ll act like nothing ever happened.”

 

And Jihoon is surprised that the other managed to hit his insecurity right on the nose. “I-I…”

 

But he’s presented with no other choice when Guanlin steps in front of him, leaning down a little. “Come on.”

 

And Jihoon wants to die right then and there. He battles himself on the inside, weighing out the pros and cons of this particular mess, and when he considers that he should stop acting like a stubborn baby for once, he reluctantly gives in. It’s for the sake of winning, he tells himself. And with that, he mumbles out a short, “Fine.”

 

He hops up and Guanlin groans in pretend pain.

 

“Hey,” Jihoon slaps his arm. “You asked for this,” He mutters.

 

“I’m kidding, I’m kidding. Lighten up a little.”

 

They walk and Jihoon feels like a helpless child—and after some thought, he considers that he even acts like one. The mortification still bubbles in his chest, but eventually it dies down after a few odd moments of yelling at himself. He finds himself resting his chin on Guanlin’s shoulder, muttering little whines under his breath every now and then to show the other his distaste for this whole situation.

 

“You know, this is probably karma for what you did to your sister’s tag,” Guanlin snarks once Jihoon finally quiets down.

 

Jihoon grumbles and flicks him on the head. “Less talking more walking.”

 

Guanlin snickers in reply.

 

They continue to trudge along and Jihoon is left to his own thoughts. He feels awkward like this; realizing now that coming here he’d never expect that he’d ride on the back of the heir to a multibillion dollar corporation. It feels like it should be a dream but in reality, he’s nervous, and even more so insecure. He feels out of place and he’s probably stretching out the fabric of Guanlin’s Louis Vuitton trench coat. But the other doesn’t seem to mind at all. And now that he actually takes the time to really look at the other, Guanlin is wearing a semi-formal outfit underneath it, compelling Jihoon to wonder _what kind of situation did Jihoon drag him out of in order to participate in this stupid event._

 

He’s conflicted and uncertain as to why someone like Guanlin would want to spend his time messing around with Jihoon. He finds himself saying part of his sentence out loud, “I don’t understand…”

 

Which prompts Guanlin to answer back, “Understand what?”

 

But before Jihoon can sputter out a lie, they hear the sound of a loud, blaring horn; signaling to them that they’ve lost.

 

Jihoon’s heart sinks in his chest. This was all his fault. There was nothing more crushing than losing to Jihoon—that and maybe the fact that he was still on Guanlin’s back—and he begins to slide off, mentioning, “I can get off now since we’re in no rush...”

 

But Guanlin instantly refuses, gripping at his legs tighter. “You can stay on.”

 

“Why? We’ve lost already, there’s no point.”

 

“Just cuz,” Guanlin says.

 

And Jihoon’s brow twitches with annoyance. “What’s with you?” He tugs at a strand of Guanlin’s hair. “Put me down!”

 

“Nope,” Guanlin retorts back.

 

“Why?” He demands again.

 

“Because!” Is all he supplies.

 

Jihoon grumbles in defeat. “Fine, whatever. But you still have to put me down before we get to the clearing, _got it?”_

 

Guanlin hums.

 

They walk for a few more minutes and, after much internal debate, Jihoon finally realizes that he should probably suck up his emotions and apologize to the other. “Sorry,” He manages to mumble out against the fabric of Guanlin’s coat. It’s humiliating, and he feels like vomiting having to _apologize_ to the other, but Jihoon knows better, and once the words leave his mouth, he feels a bit lighter.

 

“For what?”

 

“Dragging you into this… getting hurt… acting rudely…” He lists. “I’m the reason we lost.” He admits with all his strength.

 

Guanlin snorts. “I don’t care about winning.”

 

“You don’t?”

 

“Never have.”

 

“Then why did you agree to do this with me?”

 

Guanlin sighs loudly, turning his head a little to gaze back at Jihoon. “You really don’t give yourself enough credit.”

 

“What’s that supposed to mean.”

 

Guanlin doesn’t reply, opting to just smile forwards instead.

 

They walk up to the clearing and they can see the lights from the event shining in from the trees now. Jihoon thinks that this is a good place for Guanlin to drop him off, so he motions for the other to stop now. “Sorry you probably had better things to do tonight. And thanks for helping me out; your debt is repaid.”

 

Guanlin doesn’t respond to him, and instead, he says, “Since I carried you on my back this entire way, can I ask a request of you?”

 

“Hey! I didn’t ask for this—”

 

“It’s just a request, you can say no.”

 

 Jihoon huffs. “Fine, what do you want this time?”

 

Guanlin pauses for a minute, thinking on whether or not he should say what he is about to, but he ultimately decides that he should and asks the other, “Can we meet again tomorrow?”

 

Jihoon chokes on his words and for some reason, can’t think of any other reply than, _“Sure”_ —the word slipping from his mouth in the process.

 

Guanlin grins and, with that word of confirmation, he finally lets Jihoon slide off his back. _“Good.”_

 

* * *

 

Unlike Jihoon, Nayoung blends in at the resort, and because of that she hears and sees everything from a spot that Jihoon will never find himself in.

 

Unfortunately, they didn’t win, and Jieqiong is more upset that they weren’t able to even _find_ their blue tag. Nayoung pats her on the back comfortingly, whispering little “there, there’s” and “it’s okay, we tried our best,” but her mind wanders elsewhere when she overhears a small group of people chatting.

 

_“Who is that guy Lai Guanlin was with?” “Wasn’t he the person from the last event?” “I thought he never did events like this.”_

“Who does that poor boy think he is?” A rather loud voice snarls above the rest of everyone’s chatter. It’s the winner of the event; and he’s also the heir to a large business in Korea—from what Nayoung knows. “He doesn’t even deserve to be at this resort,” He adds and a few other people voice their agreements.

 

They quiet once Jihoon and Guanlin come walking out of the forest, and she catches the nasty glares they shoot at her brother.

 

 _Jihoon really is an idiot,_ Nayoung thinks to herself. _For two reasons now._

 

The first is when she suddenly overhears the event organizer say to the two: “You guys broke the no sabotaging rule. I’m sorry to say this, but from now on, you two are banned from the rest of the events.”

 

 _“WHAT??”_ Jihoon screeches from afar. “THIS IS INJUSTICE! You have no proof!”

 

The lady proceeds to explain something to him, saying that they have cameras everywhere just in case something bad were to happen, and her brother bursts with childlike fury, kicking at the snow on the floor and muttering something that sounds like “ _Whatever. I don’t care about your stupid rich people games anyway.”_

 

She catches how the Lai heir seems to just smile amusedly at him, eyes sparkling and watching as Jihoon pouts with his arms crossed.

 

Nayoung rolls her eyes for the second reason that _Jihoon really is an idiot_ : He’s completely oblivious to how much trouble he’s about to get into.

 

She continues to hear the gossip and snide remarks revolving around her brother and a certain heir as the unlikely duo begins to march off; Jihoon stomping away and Lai Guanlin snickering, following in suit.

 

But Jihoon has always been an idiot and honestly, Nayoung thinks, he can do whatever he wants because Nayoung isn’t going to get up in his business. It doesn't concern her.

 

With a purse in her lips and a few stray thoughts, she links arms with Jieqiong, and says, “Come on, let’s go get something to eat and lighten our spirits up, yeah?”

 

“Okay,” Jieqiong sniffles.

 

With that, she walks away, idling noting the way Jihoon acts towards the other in comparison to most of his friends back home…

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> not a really funny chapter but hoLY SHIT ARE THOSE FEELINGS??? :O /SWEATS EVERYWHERE  
> Anyway sorry for leaving u guys hanging for a month and then coming back with a slow chapter… but I promise… this isn't in vain… we're just gradually getting somewhere… LOLOLOLOLOL
> 
> If ur curious about the month gap u can read that here: twitter.com/onguanlinnie/status/968300134164344832
> 
> BESIDES THAT!!! I APOLOGIZE AGAIN! *u* thank u so much for reading and I'd love to hear ur thoughts!! It really helps me to craft this story! :D we're at the supposed halfway point and the storm has yet to come :o  
> I HOPE U'VE ALL BEEN ENJOYING THUS FAR!!! *u* this fic really enjoys giving me trouble but that's what makes writing it fun! ;u;
> 
> Anyway, I'LL SEE U GUYS NEXT TIME!!! Hopefully it wont be in a month again haha :'D <33 TATA FOR NOW LUVS!  
> (twt @onguanlinnie / cc@coppercoin)


	7. Chapter 7

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> updates from the grave
> 
> everyone say thank u nathan

When Jihoon agreed to _‘meet Guanlin tomorrow,_ ’ he didn’t expect the other to ask him to wake up at 8 o’clock in the morning for breakfast _._

 

 _“That’s the only time I’m available,”_ Guanlin had told him before they parted for the night, _“But… I’d really like to see you again.”_

 

Jihoon must have either been out of his mind or just… dazzled with how shiny and hopeful the other’s eyes looked when he asked. Because for some _dumb_ reason, he said yes.

 

What kind of idiot even wakes up at 8AM on their winter break? Not Jihoon.

 

But apparently, he’s the only sane one at this resort because his entire family is already awake and making noise.

 

Jihoon groans and feels a headache slowly building up as he rolls around in bed.

 

It all comes to him gradually, but soon enough, he can make out the of the television running and the clicking of Nayoung’s nails as she jabs away at her cellphone. He thinks he also hears screaming, but he’s not entirely sure whether it’s coming from Woojin or inner-Jihoon who wants to sleep in for another five hours.

 

He gets up though, and drags himself into the bathroom.

 

Getting ready is a struggle, both because his ankle still hurts from when he tripped yesterday and he doesn’t exactly know what he should wear to what will probably be the fanciest breakfast he’ll ever eat. But after spending an embarrassingly long amount of time trying to put together a decent looking outfit, he figures that no matter what he wears, it still won’t be enough.

 

So he puts on whatever and starts heading out the door.

 

“Where are _you_ going?” He hears Nayoung ask from where she’s sitting at the dining table. She narrows her eyes suspiciously at him, taking a long sip of her coffee.

 

A grin spreads across Jihoon’s face as he begins to tie his shoes. “Wouldn’t you like to know,” He hums.

 

Nayoung lets out a short, fake laugh. “Whatever, _mouth breather_ , like I give a shit. At least tell mom where you’re going so I’m not questioned to death about where you are…”

 

She returns her attention back to her phone, and Jihoon suddenly wants to chuck his shoe at her, but his mom materializes out of nowhere with shocked look on her face, effectively ruining his plan.

 

Her eyes glitter with proud tears. “D-Did I hear that right? A-Are you going outside? All on your own?” She whimpers.

 

“ALIENS LAID EGGS IN HYUNG’S BRAIN,” He hears Woojin cackle from somewhere across the room.

 

Jihoon groans, “Mom, please don’t—”

 

She sniffles loudly. “I never thought this day would come,” She shoots him a watery smile and opens the door for him, shoving him out. “Go on, Jihoon,” His mom whispers, “Go and have lots of fun, and stay out for as long as you want!”

 

“Oh my god, I’m not even going to be out for that long,” Jihoon grumbles, his face turning pink with embarrassment, “It’s only breakfast.”

 

“With who?” She asks, “Is it that kind boy who’s always treating you out?”

 

Jihoon’s face turns impossibly redder as a knowing smile spreads across her face. Jihoon spats, _“He’s not always—”_

 

“Oh, goodness me,” She blows her nose and cuts him off with an adoring pinch to his cheek. “I’m probably making you late. Tell him to come by some time, okay? He sounds charming and I’d love for him to teach me how he gets you out of the house—”

 

And before Jihoon can say no, she slams the door in his face, locking it.

 

\---

 

Jihoon actually makes good time hiking up the hill towards the central part of the resort and finds that his ankle doesn’t hurt as badly as he thought it did. He concludes that maybe he didn’t twist it last night, and instead, just sprained it slightly with the heat of the moment increasing the pain by tenfold _._

 

Which, he thinks, totally _wasn’t_ worth the effort since they didn’t even win.

 

And then got banned from participating ever again.

 

But hey! He got a free breakfast out of it, so it’s not entirely a defeat.

 

Jihoon pulls out his phone and scrolls through a few forums once he gets to a busier part of the resort where more people are walking around. He figures that if he doesn’t make eye contact with anyone, no one will notice him.

 

But not watching the sidewalk combined with Jihoon’s horrible luck is nothing short of a recipe for disaster, because right when he’s at the café doors, he suddenly bumps into another person who walks up at the same time he does.

 

In slow motion, he watches as his phone goes flying out of his hands and Jihoon feels his heart shatter at the same time it hits the icy concrete. He’s devastated, but also dreading a world of trouble considering he may or may not have pissed off some high-class prick which he rammed into.

 

Jihoon puts on his Sparkly, Innocent Puppy Eyes when he turns to look up at the person, ready to say sorry. However, his apology gets caught in his throat when he realizes who it is.

 

“You’d think that after as many accidents as you’ve been in,” Guanlin says as he bends over to pick up Jihoon’s phone, dusting the snow off of it, “You’d learn to at least look where you’re going.”

 

Jihoon frowns when Guanlin offers him an infuriatingly pleasant grin. “Thanks,” He forces out, taking his phone back and shoving it into his pocket. “But in my defense, your obnoxious height makes you an easy target to hit.”

 

“Ah, so it’s my fault now?” Guanlin snickers.

 

Jihoon shrugs, but doesn’t deny it.

 

“I see… Then I’ll try to be shorter next time,” He promises with mock-sincerity, opening the door for the other to step through. “Don’t want you twisting your other ankle.”

 

“ _The_ Lai Guanlin? Shrinking for _my_ safety _and_ treating me out to breakfast?” Jihoon gasps. A grin spreads across his lips, “I’m honored, _truly_ , but my ankle is fine.” He rolls his eyes playfully.

 

“That’s good to hear. One less thing I feel guilty for.”

 

_“Mhm.”_

 

“Even _though_ ,” He points out with a grin, “Every time you’ve gotten hurt technically wasn’t my fault.”

 

“Sure.”

 

They’re walking through a very magnificent foyer that very much intimidates Jihoon, when the other mentions quietly, “You seem very cheerful today. A lot less grumpy.”

 

Jihoon turns to look at the other, who is smiling to himself. “Are you saying that I’m _usually_ grumpy?” He asks almost offendedly.

 

Guanlin raises a brow at him, silently gesturing _‘really?’_

 

And Jihoon scoffs. “Rude.”

 

“If it makes you feel any better, I meant it kindly,” The taller muses with a cheerful look on his face.

 

“I’m sure you did,” Jihoon deadpans. After they walk for a bit, he finally shrugs and replies, “Who’d be angry when they’re getting free food?”

 

“Ah,” Guanlin nods, “So the key to a happier Jihoon is to make sure he’s fed. Noted.”

 

Jihoon snickers, “Whatever.”

 

Once they get past the foyer, they come upon the beautifully decorated café where handfuls of people are dressed up and eating around pristine, round tables.

 

Although extravagant, the place Guanlin had chosen almost seems cozy in a way, with most of the walls being made from dark wood, bricks, and massive windows that allow the morning sun to blanket the entirety of the area.

 

Low chatter and the sound of silverware clinking fills the air, but it all drops into silence once the two of them stop in front of the hostess who widens her eyes upon seeing them.

 

Jihoon shrinks once the murmuring cues in, and he tries to look elsewhere before he loses his appetite.

 

Guanlin steps up, “I have a reservation for two?”

 

“Yes!” The hostess blurts out, picking up two menus, “For the table in the back near the window, right?”

 

Guanlin nods.

 

“Right this way please,” She says.

 

Once they’re seated, the heat of everyone’s stares gradually begin to dissipate and Jihoon lets out a breath he didn’t know he was holding in.

 

“Are you okay?” Guanlin asks worriedly.

 

“Of course I’m okay,” Jihoon assures him believably. “Are you okay?” He jokes under his breath.

 

Guanlin’s lips curve into a small smile. “Never been better actually,” He replies. They flip through their menus for a bit, before he speaks up again. “Do you know what you want?”

 

“I usually have, like, cereal for breakfast so anything sounds great to me,” Jihoon replies, staring at an unreasonably complex looking breakfast crepe that looks delicious but far too pricey for how small it is.

 

He just lets Guanlin order for the both of them since he can’t really decide and plans on eating off the other’s plate anyway.

 

It’s kinda weird, Jihoon suddenly realizes, since this is the first time they’ve hung out together without either of them needing a favor.

 

What’s even weirder is that Jihoon is pretty okay with this.

 

They talk for a few comfortable minutes, and when their food is brought to them, Jihoon decides that he likes Guanlin’s breakfast better so they swap plates.

 

Jihoon doesn’t even remember what they end up talking about, just that at one point, he got really heated over the most recent Overwatch League tournament and ranted for, like, ten minutes over how shit Seoul Dynasty’s team composition was.

 

Guanlin listened intently though, looking almost as if he were endeared and nodding every now and then even though he probably didn’t understand a single word that left his mouth.

 

“You’re very passionate,” He says after Jihoon takes an angry bite out of his apple, “It sounds like fun.”

 

“It is,” Jihoon replies. With a wobble in his voice, he spitefully adds, “I could have been playing, but my PC is at _HOME_ where I COULD HAVE BEEN if my parents didn’t drag me out here in the first place… I bet my skill rating has decayed since I haven’t touched the game in _days,_ ” He whimpers.

 

“It can’t be that bad,” Guanlin thinks.

 

“I WAS IN GRAND MASTER—”

 

“I don’t… know what that means,” The other states hesitantly.

 

“It means I was really, _really_ good,” Jihoon frowns, “And if you don’t play the game for a certain number of days, it’ll drop you until you’re in DIAMOND. WHICH IS THREE LEVELS LOWER THAN WHERE I DESERVE TO BE.”

 

“I-I’m sorry to hear that,” Guanlin flinches when the other’s eyes begin to sparkle with tears. Hastily, he tries, “Y-You know, speaking of games, we still haven’t used our prizes for winning the first competition.”

 

Jihoon perks up when he realizes that they haven’t.

 

“They say that the prizes are really good, so maybe, it’ll help you get your mind off of things,” Guanlin suggests. “I’m free all tomorrow, so we can use them together.”

 

“We could…” Jihoon murmurs, “But y-you don’t want to use the ticket yourself?” He scratches the back of his neck. “I mean…”

 

“Why would I want to do that?” The other blinks, “We won them together so we should use them together, right?”

 

Jihoon feels torn. There’s no reason for them to even continue seeing each other after this and, in all honesty, he feels like he’s overstayed his welcome. But before he can think on it any further, the other speaks up again.

 

“I _want_ to use my ticket with you,” He restates. “I think it’ll be fun, and it’s not like you have anything better to do, don’t lie to me.”

 

Jihoon shoots the other an annoyed glance, but it comes off a bit weaker than he intended and ends up just looking like a pout. “Okay then. Fine,” He murmurs. “We’ll use them tomorrow.”

 

“Perfect.”

 

 _“But,”_ Jihoon pauses to look at the other Very Seriously, “I have one condition.”

 

“What is it?”

 

“We meet _after_ noon.”

 

Guanlin snickers, “Why? Is 8AM too early for you?”

 

“I feel like I’m going to pass out.”

 

“Okay, okay,” He laughs, “Noon it is.”

 

After that decision, they fall into a comfortable chatter and talk about mindless things.

 

Jihoon somehow ends up telling Guanlin about this one time he dyed his hair red back in middle school and got attacked by a swarm of bees during science camp, and in return, Guanlin tells him about a time he went to a music camp back in elementary and was _so bad_ at every instrument, they put him on the triangle and gave him his own solo so that his parents would come to the recital.

 

In the end, Jihoon says that he never wants to dye his hair red ever again and Guanlin mentions that he had to take up piano lessons ever since. They have a good laugh about it until a man in a black suit walks up to Guanlin, whispering something into his ear.

 

“You have to go?” Jihoon asks, but it comes out more as a statement because he already knows the answer.

 

“In a bit,” The other replies.

 

Jihoon takes a gigantic bite out of his omelet and asks, “I don’t know if this is intrusive or anything, but what do you do whenever you leave?”

 

“It’s nothing exciting.”

 

“You told me that riding horses and playing badminton was exciting,” Jihoon deadpans, “If that’s _fun_ —” he quotes the word ‘fun’ with his fingers, “—then what do you consider boring?”

 

“Okay, equestrianism is understandably boring— _for a few, tasteless individuals_ —” Guanlin adds, and Jihoon makes a face like he wants to fling himself out the window, “But I thought badminton was universally liked!”

 

Jihoon rolls his eyes. “Badminton is _baby_ tennis,” He spits, “Tennis for _wimps_. The ball can’t even hurt you so there’s no point in hitting it back.”

 

Guanlin laughs, “For one, it’s called a _birdie_ and second, why are you aiming it at other people?”

 

“You’ve never been to a public high school,” The other replies with a distant look in his eye.

 

“That… is true. But if anything, you’re making me want to go even less.”

 

Jihoon snickers.

 

“And to answer your question, my family is holding their annual New Year’s banquet soon,” Guanlin says. A small smile spreads across his lips as he further explains, “They need me to help make certain decisions, learn the business tradition, and be there to greet and talk to all the guests who are attending and whatnot.”

 

“Ah,” Jihoon hums, “I think I’ve overheard people talking about it…”

 

“It’s likely. A lot of my family’s most important business partners are attending and staying here for the time being.”

 

“Oh … Do you enjoy it?” Jihoon suddenly finds himself asking. When Guanlin’s eyes widen, he realizes that the question could have come off as disrespectful so he quickly stammers out, “I-I mean, it’s not really my place to ask and you probably do enjoy it since it’s important business to your family and all—”

 

But the heir suddenly begins to laugh, and Jihoon rambles off into silence, feeling confused and very much flustered.

 

“It’s obligatory, which makes it tolerable. But it gets very bland after a while,” Guanlin muses quietly, “Though, between you and me, I sometimes wish I could be doing other things.”

 

“I… see,” Jihoon responds, clearing his throat.

 

Soon, they finish their breakfasts and stand up to leave. Before they part ways, Jihoon mentions, “So... I guess I’ll see you tomorrow?”

 

“Yes.”

 

“Alright,” Jihoon hums, shooting the taller a brief wave, “Well, try have fun until then, I guess.”

 

Guanlin mock-sighs. “It’ll be hard…”

 

“You’ll live,” Jihoon rolls his eyes.

 

Later, when he returns to the cabin, his mom congratulates him on staying outside for two whole hours.

 

 

* * *

 

 

Guanlin spends the following morning trying to make good use of his time, but no matter what he does, he ends up just staring at clocks distractedly and counting down the seconds until noon hits.

 

There’s not really much to do inside of his family’s penthouse suite anyway, so he chooses one of the many couches inside of the spacious living room to lay on and lets the television run in the background as he waits.

 

When it’s finally 11 o’clock, he decides that he’s done sitting around and heads for the door. But he only makes it so far because his mom calls him from inside her bedroom, “Guanlin, honey, be a dear and help me with the clip on this necklace.”

 

Obediently, Guanlin makes his way into his mother’s room and finds her wearing a nice dress. She smiles upon seeing him in the reflection of her mirror, and places the necklace into his hands.

 

“You’re dressed very nicely,” Guanlin murmurs as he carefully works the clasp through the loop, “Are you going out?”

 

“I am,” She hums and thanks him quietly when he finishes. She then turns around and begins to fix Guanlin’s collar, stating, “The Lee’s invited us to lunch a few hours ago. Your father is going to be there.”

 

Guanlin nods.

 

“You’re invited too, of course. And if I remember correctly, you and their eldest got along quite nicely.”

 

“Thanks, but…” Guanlin smiles to himself, “I already have plans.”

 

“Oh really?”

 

“Yes, I’m meeting up with a friend in a bit.”

 

His mother flattens out his shirt and motions for him to walk with her, “Is it the friend you mentioned a while ago? The one who had you distracted when we talked with the Bae Family? And at the dinner party the night you left early?”

 

Guanlin chokes and he heats up in the cheeks a little, “I thought you didn’t—”

 

“See your phone?” She finishes his sentence with a laugh. “You’re lucky your dad is just as oblivious as you are indiscreet; you’re very bad at hiding it.”

 

“Is that so? Then I’ll try harder next time,” Guanlin jokes under his breath, which earns him a soft pinch to his forearm. “But yes, I’m meeting him again.”

 

“I see,” His mother muses with a small quirk in her lips, “Well… you look very nice, but do make sure to tuck your shirt in properly before you go, and take a coat—the grey one I bought for you a few days back will compliment what you’re wearing perfectly.”

 

“Okay,” He complies, mostly because his mom told him to. Guanlin knows that Jihoon probably doesn’t care what he shows up looking like.

 

“Have fun, dear.”

 

His mom leaves, patting his cheek as a goodbye, and Guanlin follows a few minutes afterwards, heading towards the lodge he and Jihoon agreed to meet at.

 

\---

 

Guanlin knows that he probably shouldn’t have shown up 20 minutes early. Especially since it’s kinda cold out, and the jacket he’s wearing serves more aesthetic purposes than it does functional.

 

But it’d probably help if he weren’t waiting in the snow.

 

It’s a few minutes after twelve when Guanlin finally sees a figure making his way towards him. And he knows it’s Jihoon because of his shorter stature and the vibrant blue snow coat he’s got on that’s crinkled and not even zipped up the entire way.

 

Excitement flutters in Guanlin’s chest. He’s dazed for a few seconds because there’s something about seeing the other that’s just so refreshing and makes him inexplicably happy; he’s suddenly more than excited that he gets to spend almost an entire day with Jihoon instead of eating lunch with his family’s business partners.

 

He’s so distracted in his own thoughts, that he doesn’t even notice that Jihoon’s face is red.

 

Because he’s running (limping) for some reason.

 

_Really fast._

 

And Guanlin notices a moment too late that there’s an even shorter figure running even faster towards him who suddenly starts screeching at the top of his lungs.

 

“WOOJIN, SLOW DOWN,” he hears Jihoon yell.

 

But the toddler bashes right into Guanlin’s legs, sending them both toppling right into the snow, and Guanlin is disorientated for a few blinding seconds.

 

When he opens his eyes again, he’s greeted with a big smile and a heavy weight on his chest.

 

“PIE GUANLIN!!” Woojin shouts, and Guanlin hears his ears ring. “I HAVEN’T SEEN YOU IN A BAJILLION YEARS!” The toddler throws his hands up for emphasis, excitedly bouncing on the other underneath him.

 

And Guanlin nods, “It’s good, but very unexpected to see you, Woojin.”

 

He sees Woojin turn to look behind himself, smirk, and then bends towards the side of his face to whisper, “I kept our secret from hyung!!” But he pronounces the ‘S’ in _secret_ a bit too hard and ends up spitting in Guanlin’s ear a little.

 

The heir shudders. “That’s great,” He says, and tries to wipe his ear off with his shoulder. Woojin puffs out his chest proudly, so Guanlin continues praising, “I’m glad to have made a deal with someone as reliable as you.”

 

“It’s nothing,” Woojin boasts with a haughty grin, “I’m only the bestest secret keeper in the whole entire wor—”

 

Suddenly, the toddler’s eyes widen, and two hands reach under his armpits to hoist him up and off of Guanlin.

 

“I’m sorry,” Jihoon pants breathlessly, expression flustered and drained from having just sprinted up an entire hill, “Woojin, say sorry too.”

 

“NEVER,” He cackles evilly. But when Jihoon bonks him on the back head, the toddler robotically states, “Sorry.”

 

“It’s fine,” Guanlin laughs and dusts the snow off himself. He looks down at Jihoon and feels a soft, uncontrollable smile spread across his lips, “Hello again, Jihoon.”

 

“I OVERSLEPT—” The other suddenly blurts out with his face red. It startles Guanlin a little. “I-I didn’t mean to... but when I woke up, I didn’t know my parents made last second plans and put my sister and I on little brother duty for the day. I figured you were already waiting here and it’d be rude if I cancelled with you over text, so I came up to tell you in person instead… Sorry. We should probably save the tickets for another day…”

 

“It’s okay,” Guanlin grins, burying his hands into his pockets. He’s been standing in the cold for so long his teeth are chattering and he can barely feel his fingertips now, but that doesn’t really matter to him because all he can think about is how warm he unexpectedly feels and how badly he’s been anticipating seeing the other again. “I don’t see why we still can’t carry on with our original plans.”

 

“… You want to use our tickets… _with Woojin??”_ Jihoon asks in disbelief.

 

“It’s perfectly fine with me.”

 

Jihoon stares at him for a long moment. _“Really?”_

 

“What’s the problem? I like him,” Guanlin says, and turns to look at Woojin who is trying to shove a toy car up his nose. When he turns back to Jihoon, the other raises a brow at him. “I stand by what I said.”

 

“Not happening.”

 

“Why not?”

 

“You’re ridiculous if you think I’m bringing my little brother anywhere where he can _break_ —” Jihoon pauses to take a good look at the taller, “Are you shivering???”

 

“A little,” Guanlin replies, “It’s nothing, but I would greatly appreciate it if we got to the part where you agree with me and we use our tickets together _right now_.”

 

Jihoon ignores him. “How long have you been standing out here for??”

 

“Not long.”

 

He raises a brow.

 

“Like, thirty minutes, give or take.”

 

“ARE YOU _STUPID??”_ Jihoon yells.

 

“I’ll admit, this wasn’t one of my brightest decisions,” Guanlin’s teeth click together rapidly, “But I suppose this just gives us all the more reason to go inside and see what these tickets do, hm?”

 

“... I’m beginning to think you planned this.”

 

“I didn’t actually,” The heir hums, “But things always have a way of working in my favor.”

 

Jihoon scoffs and crosses his arms. “Fine, _whatever_. But if the tickets end up being for something I can’t take Woojin, then I’m going straight back to my cabin.”

 

“Fair,” Guanlin decides, “But in compensation for being late and having me wait up here for ten minutes more than I should have, I would greatly appreciate it if you warmed my hands for me.”

 

Jihoon squints at him, stating slowly, _“Are you asking me to hold your hand?”_

 

“That’s one way to word it,” Guanlin supposes, and extends his hands that are now frozen stiff. He pretend-pouts, “They’re _awfully_ cold.”

 

Jihoon takes a disinterested look at Guanlin’s hands and looks back up to his smiling face. With a smirk and a voice full of false concern, he coos, _“Aww,_ you poor thing—Woojin, hold Mr. Lai Guanlin’s hands. We don’t want to pay any damage fees if his expensive fingers fall off.”

 

Woojin shoots the toy car out of his nose with a hard puff and shoves it somewhere deep into his pocket. Fierce with determination, the toddler rushes up to Guanlin and takes both hands into his own—but he can only manage to hold two fingers. “DON’T WORRY, MISTER!! I’ll make sure your hands stay nice and hot!” He exclaims, furrowing his brows together in concentration and huffing questionably moist air onto Guanlin’s skin.

 

Guanlin’s mouth flattens into a line and he looks up to see Jihoon’s smug grin. “Shall we?” The shorter asks as he holds the door open for them.

 

It takes a few minutes before they figure out where they have to go in order to redeem their prizes, but after walking down a hall and taking an elevator up to the second floor of the massive lodge, they find a woman at an information desk who greets them, “Hello! How may I help you?”

 

“We won tickets from the resort events and would like to use them please,” Guanlin states.

 

“Of course!” The lady says, taking the tickets that both Guanlin and Jihoon hand to her.

 

As she looks through her computer, Guanlin hears Jihoon mutter under his breath, “God, I hope the prize is, like, 20 billion won in cash or something.”

 

“You want 20 billion for winning a _sled race?”_ Guanlin snickers.

 

“What? That’s not asking much considering where it’s coming from.”

 

When the lady turns back to them, Guanlin sees Jihoon’s eyes light up in anticipation. She’s all smiles and excitement as she cheers, “For your prizes, you both have both won—"

 

Jihoon bites at his nails.

 

“—a full day trip to the Hundred Season’s Resort luxury spa!!!”

 

The light instantly fades from Jihoon’s eyes and his expression drops. _“WHAT??”_ He gapes.

 

Jihoon looks everything but excited, and in fact, he actually looks horrified. But the lady behind the counter mistakes his outburst as enthusiasm so she slips them both brochures and opens them up to the front page with a massive grin on her face, “Yup! You’ve won the VIP package which comes with free access to everything the spa has to offer! We’re proud to house one of the country’s best spas, with five-star masseuses and manicurists, personalized skin care, body, and hair treatments for all of our guests and—”

 

Guanlin doesn’t listen to her ramble because he’s actually been to the spa here before. Many times, in fact. He usually goes with his mom to keep her company, maybe get a massage or something, but this year has been so hectic, he hasn’t made his annual trip yet.

 

Guanlin turns, and Jihoon looks like he’s still recovering from the shock of disappointment. Admittedly, this wasn’t what he was expecting for their prizes as well. He’s not disappointed though because the spa here is really no joke, especially considering the package they were rewarded with.

 

“Isn’t the spa here complimentary though?” Are the first words that Jihoon finally speaks. Or more appropriately, whimpers.

 

Guanlin doesn’t have to reply because the lady laughs and says, “There are two spas at this resort,” She says, holding up two fingers. “The first one is on the resort _itself_ and the other is on an adjacent mountain.”

 

Jihoon stares blankly at the brochure when she flips it to the back, pointing to a small map.

 

“It’s secluded for a more peaceful experience to ensure _maximum healing_ ,” She grins, sounding painfully like a television commercial. Jihoon looks dead in the eyes. “You only have to take a lift in order to get there.”

 

“I see,” He gags, and is silent for a few long seconds. He then suddenly turns to the lady and points to Guanlin with his thumb, “I need a moment to discuss things with him.”

 

“Take your time,” She nods happily.

 

Guanlin tries to ask what was wrong, but he doesn’t quite expect to get yanked over into a corner, standing next a decorative plant. And since Woojin is still diligently trying to warm his hands, the poor little boy gets dragged across the carpet like a doll.

 

“Yeah, no. I’m not going to a _spa_ ,” Jihoon whispers to Guanlin once they’re secluded, stressing the word _spa_ like it’s repulsive to say, let alone even think about.

 

They’re trying to be quiet because the information desk is still pretty nearby, and there are people who pass every now and then. But standing like this, they’re so close, Guanlin actually has to crane his neck so that he can look at the shorter.

 

He doesn’t reply immediately because his brain first goes to _‘wow, Jihoon’s eyelashes are so long from this angle_ , _’_ and then it takes him a moment until he breathlessly asks, “What? Why?”

 

 _“Why??”_ Jihoon repeats with a sarcastic laugh. He numerates with his fingers, whispering harshly, “For one, spas are boring. Two, I have better things to do. And three, I don’t think I can even take Woojin into a _spa—”_

 

“Have you ever been to one?”

 

_“What??”_

 

“Have you ever been to a spa,” Guanlin asks again.

 

Jihoon pauses and chews on his inner cheek impatiently. “… No,” He murmurs.

 

“Exactly, then how do you know it’ll be boring?”

 

“I JUST KNOW,” Jihoon hisses between clenched teeth. He shoves the taller (kinda) lightly, “Why? Have _you_ been to a spa?”

 

“Yes, and from experience, they’re actually quite nice,” He states.

 

Jihoon grumbles something under his breath, still looking _quite_ annoyed. He crosses his arms and mumbles, “I just want money, why couldn’t it have been something else…”

 

“These tickets are actually pretty expensive,” Guanlin replies, turning the brochure he took in his hands. He flips open to a list of prices and points to the one at the very top, “The package we won is worth about 800,000 won per person.”

 

Jihoon’s eyes glimmer with excitement, “Then can I sell the ticket???”

 

“Don’t do that,” Guanlin laughs.

 

“Why not?”

 

“Because you should just go, it’ll be fun.”

 

Jihoon scoffs, _“Please._ What’s more fun than 800,000 won _in cash?”_

 

And Guanlin just shrugs. “I mean… you could rub it in your sister’s face,” He proposes.

 

Suddenly, the shorter’s expression falls pensive. He stares forward for a good few seconds until an evil grin slowly begins to blossom across his lips.

 

It scares Guanlin a little.

 

“But there’s still a problem,” Jihoon frowns, flicking his eyes up to glare at the other, “I can’t take Woojin.”

 

“Why not?”

 

Jihoon crosses his arms, “Why do you think? I can’t afford to blow 800,000 on an extra _spa_ ticket. And besides, Woojin is _six_. Can you even bring six-year-olds into spas?”

 

Guanlin is positive that you can’t, but he’s already gotten this far so he might as well take it all the way. “Wait here,” He says, scooping up the toddler from where he’s lying on the floor. “I’m going to see what I can do.”

 

“WHAT?? Why does Woojin get to come with you and I have to wait here?” Jihoon blurts angrily as the taller begins to walk away.

 

He looks awkward standing next to the plant all by himself, but the sight makes Guanlin snicker. “Because it’s _private._ And Woojin warmed my hands for me,” Guanlin retorts, “He’s so _kind_ and _giving_ , unlike someone _._ So I’m going to do whatever it takes to let him tag along with us.”

 

Even from back at the information desk, Guanlin can see Jihoon’s eyebrow twitch.

 

He seats Woojin down on top of the table and the younger has fun running his toy car up and down the lapels of Guanlin’s coat.

 

The lady looks up and offers him a smile, “Did you two decide?”

 

“Not yet, there’s actually a little problem,” Guanlin states. She nods and the taller leans in a bit to ask, “Is there any way I can bring him along with us?”

 

She looks over at Woojin hesitantly when Guanlin gestures to him. “Um… Children aren’t allowed inside of the spa…” She trails off, diverting her gaze when the heir suddenly looks disheartened. “But for a Lai… I can talk to my boss and see what we can do?” She offers.

 

“Really?” Guanlin smiles at her, “That’d be great.”

 

She begins to make several hushed phone calls, and after a few long moments, Guanlin hears Jihoon clear his throat from where he’s still standing by the plant looking embarrassed and impatient. He tries to seem angry though, but if anything, Guanlin finds the expression more endearing than he does intimidating.

 

So Guanlin waves at him.

 

And then he gets Woojin to wave at him too.

 

Jihoon looks like he wants to punch both of them in the face.

 

The lady finally finishes her phone call in decent time, and is quick to apologize, saying, “Sorry for the wait, Mr. Lai. Fortunately, I was able to speak to my higher ups and they directed me straight to the CEO who _insisted_ to let you enjoy your spa experience however you wished.”

 

“So we can bring Woojin?” Guanlin asks, and Woojin lights up upon hearing his name, gasping under his breath _‘that’s me!’_

 

“Yes, you may,” She replies, “I’ve already sent word to the spa, they are expecting you whenever you’re ready.”

 

“Perfect! Thank you,” He tells her before helping Woojin off the desk.

 

They walk back over to where Jihoon is standing and Guanlin motions for the shorter to follow, “Come on, I got Woojin in.”

 

“How?”

 

“Connections.”

 

“Then what was so important that I couldn’t come with you two?” Jihoon rolls his eyes.

 

“Nothing,” The taller hums, “You just looked very nice pouting next to that plant.”

 

Jihoon makes a noise that sounds both offended and flustered, and he hits the taller on the shoulder for good measure.

 

But it doesn’t really hurt.

 

It only takes them an elevator ride to the uppermost floor and a walk down the hall until they get to a loading dock where a few attendants and an empty gondola lift waits for them.

 

“Welcome!” One of the attendants greets, opening the doors into the vehicle for them, “The ride to the spa will take about fifteen minutes, so we have fitted the gondola with everything you’ll need to ensure you all have a pleasant trip.”

 

Guanlin has done this many times before, so he’s used to it. But off to his left, Jihoon looks awed and at the same time, extremely uncomfortable.

 

They step into the sleek, glass gondola, each taking a seat on one of the four velvety chairs. Except that Woojin sprawls himself all over one side of the gondola and switches between the two chairs there; looking through every window excitedly and pointing at things even though they haven’t even taken off yet.

 

So Guanlin seats himself down next to Jihoon.

 

The doors close and after a few moments, the gondola begins to move. It’s actually a bit scary to Guanlin at first because Woojin starts jumping around and shaking the entire thing, despite the fact that all they can see outside are grey clouds. He then takes out his toy car again and pretends to make it fly.

 

Jihoon, on the other hand, still hasn’t said anything, and actually looks nervous even though externally, he appears impassive.

 

“You good?” Guanlin asks, nudging the other. “You’re not having second thoughts now, are you?”

 

“I can’t believe I actually let you talk me into going to a _spa_ …” Jihoon mumbles into his palm, “If this turns out to be the worst experience in the world, you owe me 800,000 won.”

 

“What?? I can’t just give you 800,000 won,” Guanlin laughs. “Besides… you’ll have fun, I can feel it.”

 

“The only thing I _feel_ right now, is tired. And worried that Woojin is going to pee on these seats—God, this place is so fancy it gives me a headache. This is real velvet, isn’t it,” Jihoon sounds stressed as he touches the chairs. “We should have let Woojin use the bathroom before we left.”

 

Guanlin snickers, “It’s only a fifteen minute ride, I’m sure he can hold it in.” But the amused look on his face disappears when Jihoon stares at him gravely. So he clears his throat and decides to change the subject, _“Anyway…_ what happened to bragging about all this to your sister? You still have that.”

 

“I suppose…”

 

However, Jihoon still doesn’t look convinced.

 

They’ve hung out enough for Guanlin to figure what makes Jihoon uncomfortable, and he has a pretty good idea what it could be because he wore the same expression when they went to the forest that one night. And coincidentally, it’s the same expression as when they first met, and whenever they went out together too.

 

Like he’s expecting something horrible to happen and planning twenty different ways to run or disappear.

 

“There’s something else bothering you, isn’t there.”

 

“There’s not.”

 

“What are you thinking about?”

 

Jihoon is quiet before he replies, “The only thing I’m thinking about is the 800,000 won you still owe me.”

 

At this, Guanlin snickers. “How about this,” he proposes, “If you actually do end up hating this little _spa trip_ , then I’ll owe you another favor—”

 

“So 800,000 won—”

 

“—SOMETHING that isn’t 800,000 won,” Guanlin cuts him off, “But… you have to try and have fun.”

 

Jihoon thinks for a second before quietly stating, “You sound like my mom,” which makes Guanlin laugh. But in the end, the shorter still holds out his hand to shake, “You’re on.”

 

“Not yet,” Guanlin interjects, “If _I_ win…”

 

Jihoon snorts. “As _if—”_

 

“You owe _me_ a favor.”

 

 _“Please,”_ He smirks, still offering his hand, “I’m very good at keeping a straight face when I want to.”

 

Guanlin quirks a brow, but finally shakes on the deal. “Don’t forget about our rule about _trying_ though,” He repeats.

 

And Jihoon looks up at him innocently. “What do you mean? I’ll try very, _very_ hard to have lots of fun at this… _spa_ ,” He says, but it’s forced.

 

It’s just as cute as it is amusing.

 

Guanlin feels his lips tug into a smile _._

 

Regardless of what Jihoon may think, Guanlin already knows that he’s winning when the gondola emerges from the clouds and the mist, and suddenly, they’re thousands and thousands of feet in the air, looking out at nothing but snowy, white mountains for miles.

 

Jihoon subconsciously pushes closer to the glass walls.

 

From up here, they can see the resort in its entirety, and it’s massive just as much as it is beautiful. They can see the ski slopes and the various shops—even the forest they were in that felt endless to walk through, now looking as if it could fit in the palm of your hand.

 

It’s not snowing, but the sky is a soft, clear blue that makes everything shimmer, even inside of the gondola. But Guanlin doesn’t quite notice this because instead of taking in the view outside, he’s watching the way Jihoon’s eyes light up upon seeing everything, and how the sun hits his light brown hair, traces the bridge of his nose down to the curve of his chin.

 

_Jihoon really doesn’t give himself enough credit._

 

Quickly, Guanlin finds himself frozen, but on the inside, he feels like he’s melting.

 

It’s exhilarating experience that he’s not quite used to, and he almost finds it frightening how long it takes for him to collect himself.

 

Yet, strangely, no matter how much his chest aches and how dizzy he suddenly becomes, he wants to feel his heart racing like this— _like he’s about to burst_ —over and over again.

 

“It’s alright,” Jihoon hums impassively, like he couldn’t care less about the scenery he was just gaping at. “I’ve seen prettier on my computer.”

 

It takes him a second, but eventually, Guanlin finds it in himself to breathe again. “Are you sure?” He asks quietly.

 

“Positive,” Jihoon smirks.

 

“ARE YOU KIDDING, HYUNG???” Woojin actually screams so loud, the gondola practically shakes, “IT LOOKS LIKE NARNIA—” He then slams his face against the window and tries to say something against the glass, but they can’t make out what his muffled garbling is so they just leave him be.

 

\---

 

The spa finally comes into view and it’s exactly how Guanlin remembers it.

 

The entire multi-story building is made from tinted, opaque glass with the structure being built right into the mountain side, jutting out just barely to hang over nothing but air. From the outside, it looks sleek, and when the gondola stops at the loading dock, the inside is just as such.

 

“Welcome,” An attendant greets them upon their arrival. “We hope that your ride was comfortable.”

 

“It was,” Guanlin assures her with a nod.

 

Next to him, Jihoon and Woojin are looking around with wide eyes, but Jihoon looks sort of intimidated whereas Woojin is about to burst with excitement.

 

They follow the attendant down the hall, listening as she speaks, “I’ll show you three to your room first, since that is where all of your things are, such as bathrobes, slippers, etcetera. It’ll be your room for the next twenty-four hours to do whatever you please. Your package comes with all access to the spa as well as any other room services or catering you require.”

 

When they get into an elevator and the attendant clicks the top floor, she turns around and hands them both itineraries, giving a lollipop to Woojin instead.

 

“In that booklet, you’ll find everything that this spa has to offer. We’ve… never had a guest as young as this one,” She gestures to Woojin who delightedly slurps at his lollipop, “So please make sure to keep a close eye on him and be mindful of what a toddler can handle. We suggest he stays away from the saunas.”

 

“Of course,” Guanlin replies.

 

The elevator comes to a stop with a ring. From there, the attendant leads them down another hall with various doors labelled by number.

 

It’s obvious that Jihoon doesn’t expect their room to be the double-door at the very end of the hall because he looks at it confusedly, wondering why it doesn’t have a number.

 

“We’ve updated your lanyard cards to be able to open this door,” She says.

 

But before either Guanlin or Jihoon can take out their respective cards, Woojin digs his out from underneath his puffy coat and yells, “I WANNA DO IT!!” before running up to the scanner and smashing the plastic against it.

 

Instantly, the door clicks open, and the attendant pushes the doors open to reveal the grandest room in the spa.

 

Guanlin pretends not to notice how Jihoon’s mouth drops, for the sake of the other’s pride.

 

At the entrance, a few other attendants offer to take their coats and hang them up, leaving with the reminder that they only need to call if they ever require assistance. And only when they’re finally gone does Jihoon finally make a sound.

 

“What the fuck,” He squeaks, holding a hand to his mouth to mask his astonishment as he walks down and towards the gigantic wall made entirely of glass, showing them a perfect view of the mountain range around them.

 

Woojin immediately barrels towards one of the king-sized beds and begins bouncing on it. “THIS IS SO!!! COOL!!!” He screams, belly flopping onto the sheets and rolling around.

 

Guanlin smiles to himself, taking in how excited the both of them are, and it definitely understandable because the room _is_ gorgeous—and that’s saying a lot considering Guanlin has been many places before.

 

It’s a bit big for the amount of people it was made for, with two entire levels separated by five stairs, a small waterfall, and a manmade river that travels along the length of the room.

 

On the first level is a bed that faces the window, and an 80-inch television that rises from underneath the floor with the click of a button. There are a few tables and chairs for eating or relaxing, and off to the side is a door that leads into a spacious private bathroom.

 

The second level is a bit smaller, with the river from the manmade waterfall curling around a set of massage chairs, as well as a fireplace and several couches that face towards the glass wall, overlooking the horizon. Which is perfect for viewing the sunset, Guanlin thinks, so they’ll have to do that before they leave.

 

Both Woojin and Jihoon seem thrilled, Jihoon less obvious than Woojin of course. It’s such a shame they can’t stay the whole twenty-four hours they won the room for, especially since Jihoon looks beyond amazed, pressing his hands up to the glass quietly and staring down at the snow below them.

 

The sight makes Guanlin’s chest warm.

 

 

 

 

After changing into the complimentary bathrobes, Jihoon takes it upon himself to order more than half of the entire menu.

 

“It’s free,” Jihoon reasons with a smug grin as plates upon plates of food are brought into the room.

 

And when it’s all laid out on the tables in front of them, Jihoon takes a picture and then flips his camera to take a selfie of himself holding a tropical looking drink.

 

“What are you doing?” Guanlin asks between munching on a finger sandwich (Jihoon ordered three trays of those for some reason).

 

A small, evil smile spreads across Jihoon’s lips as he sighs dreamily, “Sending these to my sister.”

 

Guanlin scoots closer to look over Jihoon’s shoulder, reading his messages.

 

**Jihoon (2:12PM)**

\- [IMAGE ATTACHED]

\- sup nayoung

\- or should i say

\- l o s e r

 

**Jihoon (2:14PM)**

\- whats it like not knowing how to win lol

\- i’ll never know

\- [IMAGE ATTACHED]

\- i hope ur not having fun.

\- because im having

\- so

\- much

\- fun

\- [IMAGE ATTACHED]

 

**Jihoon (2:15PM)**

\- [IMAGE ATTACHED]

\- omfg there’s a waterfall in here too

\- [IMAGE ATTACHED]

\- this drink is sooo delicious. wow.

\- [IMAGE ATTACHED]

\- maybe you could have been here too if you knew how to WIN like me

 

There’s a satisfied expression on Jihoon’s face when he sends his final image, and when Nayoung leaves him on read, Jihoon looks so happy he could cry.

 

It’s all very amusing.

 

“So you _are_ having fun,” Guanlin hums once the other sets his phone down.

 

Jihoon’s face falls neutral and he takes a long sip from his drink, asking, “What makes you think that?”

 

“You told your sister you were having _‘so much fun,’”_ Guanlin quotes with his fingers. “If I didn’t know any better, I’d say I’m currently in the lead.”

 

Jihoon scoffs. “That was a _lie_ just to get her jealous,” The shorter claims.

 

“But you were smiling.”

“Smiling because something is _fun_ and smiling because my sister is _suffering_ are two very different things,” Jihoon quips. “So far, I’m still winning.”

 

“Mhm…” Guanlin nods. “Whatever you say.”

 

Jihoon rolls his eyes at him before grabbing another sandwich. But as he turns, Guanlin manages to catch a vaguely amused look on his face.

 

 

 

 

They get through a large portion of their food before they call it quits, and just as Guanlin is going to suggest they go do something else, Jihoon flops down onto the bed, declaring, “I’m going to take a nap.”

 

“But we haven’t even done anything yet,” Guanlin says, poking the other on the back of the head. “You can’t be tired already, we just _got_ here.”

 

Jihoon makes a whiny noise and tries to swipe at Guanlin’s hand, but he isn’t able to do much at this angle. “Leave me alone, I’m trying to win 800,000 won…” He mumbles into his pillow.

 

Guanlin snorts.

 

He only stops tapping the other when he suddenly feels someone tug at his sleeve, and it turns out to be Woojin who holds up his arms like he wants to be held.

 

So Guanlin picks him up and watches as the toddler rummages around in his bathrobe, pulling out a booklet. Specifically, Jihoon’s booklet filled with various spa activities that their attendant had given to them (Jihoon apathetically dropped it on one of the tables immediately after receiving it, so Woojin must have picked it up… and decorated the pages in black pen).

 

When the toddler flips to a picture of a lady wearing a clay mask, he points to it eagerly. “I WANT TO DO THAT!! THE FACE PAINTING!!” He exclaims, wearing a beaming smile and nearly jumping out of Guanlin’s arms in excitement, “Can you take me, mister? I want them to make me into a dinosaur!!!” He lets out a big roar that startles Guanlin.

 

It’s so loud, he’s surprised it didn’t wake up Jihoon.

 

Nevertheless, Guanlin thinks that getting clay masks is a great idea and it can be the next thing on their itinerary, even though its recommended that they save that for last.

 

But it doesn’t really matter.

 

With Woojin’s help, he’s pretty sure he can get Jihoon to come along too.

 

“Sure we can go,” Guanlin says, and Woojin balls his hands into fists excitedly, “But don’t you think it’d be even _more_ fun if we went with your brother?”

 

“No.” Woojin is quick to reply.

 

Guanlin chokes.

 

“He’s boring and smells like cheese.”

 

“Really?” Guanlin asks, it comes out more like a laugh. Woojin nods and the taller states amusedly, “Well… I think your brother smells fine.”

 

“That’s because he took a shower when he woke up,” Woojin tells him while picking his nose, “He usually smells like cheese though…”

 

“I thought Jihoon said he overslept this morning.”

 

The toddler shakes his head rapidly, “Nuh-Uh!! Hyung is a LIAR!!”

 

Guanlin feigns disbelief and Woojin gives him a sage nod.

 

“He said that he had to do something super-duper important today and took a million years in the bathroom!!!” The younger exclaims, throwing his hands up in the air, “I had to pee so bad and he wouldn’t let me, I almost EXPLODED!!”

 

“That’s horrible, I’m sorry that happened to you, Woojin,” Guanlin plays along. His lips curve into a smile though, finding out the true reason behind Jihoon’s tardiness.

 

Woojin nods again. “You know, mister, at home, hyung _never_ showers. Sometimes I don’t see him shower for three whole days—” Woojin holds up three tiny fingers and shows them to Guanlin, “—he doesn’t brush his teeth, he never combs his hair or changes his clothes. Mommy always tells me that hyung is a piggy because he’s always dirty, and all he does is eat—”

 

Suddenly, Woojin is yanked from Guanlin’s arms and Jihoon throws the toddler onto the bed, slamming a pillow in his face and holding it there. “DO YOU EVER STOP TALKING??”

 

Jihoon is a fiery shade of red and Guanlin is afraid that he’s going to combust.

 

He’s also afraid that Woojin is going to suffocate as he watches the toddler thrash around.

 

“I take showers,” Jihoon insists.

 

“DON’T LISTEN TO HIM, MISTER PIE!!! HE’S A LIAR!!!” Woojin screams from underneath the pillow. “I _NEVER_ SEE HIM TAKE SHOWERS—”

 

Jihoon presses down on him harder, whispering under his breath, _“Shut up shut up shut up shut up—”_

 

When Guanlin snorts, Jihoon whips around to look at him with wide eyes and turns impossibly redder seeing the heir’s entertained smile.

 

“Thank you for showering for me,” Guanlin whispers sincerely, his eyes twinkling, “I’m truly honored.”

 

“I DIDN’T TAKE A SHOWER FOR _YOU,”_ Jihoon sputters, “I TOOK A SHOWER BECAUSE I TAKE SHOWERS. _EVERY. SINGLE. DAY.”_

 

“That’s good. Healthy, even,” Guanlin tells him, trying Very Hard to conceal his grin. But biting his lip doesn’t quite work out and Jihoon makes a stressed noise. “Well, now that you’re awake and looking very much energized, how about we move along to the next thing on our list?”

 

Woojin finally escapes from under the pillow and he gasps, “FACE PAINTING!!!”

 

Jihoon looks confused. _And tired,_ like he wants to dig a hole in the ground and lay in it. “Face painting?”

 

“Clay masks,” Guanlin clarifies for him, “Woojin wanted to do it, but you should still come with us.”

 

The shorter huffs embarrassedly.

 

“Please?” He tries.

 

Jihoon sighs and crawls out of bed. “Fine, fine… But no one is putting _anything_ on my face.”

 

“Sure,” He smiles.

 

Guanlin then helps Woojin climb up onto his shoulders, and the toddler is so excited to be this high up in the air, he practically vibrates, clutching onto two tufts of his hair with little fists.

 

“If you keep spoiling him like this, he’s just gonna keep getting more and more _annoying_ ,” Jihoon hisses, staring pointedly at Woojin who is trying to touch the ceiling.

 

“What’s the matter? Are you jealous?” Guanlin laughs, and the shorter hits him lightly on the arm.

 

“Of course not.”

 

When they walk out of their room and head towards the elevator again, Guanlin mentions, “You smell lovely by the way.”

 

Jihoon gives him a look that’s both flustered and bloodthirsty.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So… hundred season’s resort spa trip ended up being reALLY FUCKING LONG LMAOOO and I didn’t want to spoil u guys with a 20K word chapter… because im a dick SKDFJSKDFSDKFJ UWU <3  
> SO SPA TRIP PART 2 IS NEXT CHAPTER /WINKS
> 
> anyway.  
> as you probably noticed, baejin and minhyun are now characters in this fic. The reason being is bc when I initially outlined this fic, i didn’t quite decide who would play the antagonist in this story, and like a dumbass, I decided to start writing anyway (if u’ve noticed, I’ve left him nameless for the last two or three chapters too LOLL skdfjsdkf). So I let twitter decide and the majority wanted baejin to be the antag, and I, being a man of the people, decided to roll with it.  
> I also warned u guys **MULTIPLE TIMES** that the antag is supposed to be a DICK yet yall still chose him anyway. but since I love that boy SO VERY dearly, I cant make him a full asshole… so I altered his character as much as I could and gave him butler hwang (who twitter also voted for) to vouch for him.  
>  But for the sake of the original story, he’s still gonna have to do some pretty shitty stuff so ¯\\_(ツ)_/¯ yall brought this upon urselves  
>  **tldr;** baejin is the antag bc twitter voted for it. he’s gonna be a dick and its not my fault
> 
> also I made Jieqiong an official character bc…. i wanted to
> 
> so yeah. TELL ME WHAT U THINK ;) AND I’LL SEE U GUYS LATER!
> 
> (twt @onguanlinnie / cc @coppercoin)


	8. Chapter 8

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> SPA TRIP PART 2 LMAO  
> basically takes place right after ch7 ends
> 
> this is the last boring information/set-up chapter, I promise o<-<  
> I tried to sugar coat it while still trying to get info across, but its still kinda RIP LMAO  
> bear with me yall this shits importanté. lots of characters and dynamics are being emphasized here so that the story is more impactful later aight (that's how writing works, i say, as probably the most inexperienced and needlessly Extra writer in the entire universe.)
> 
> also this is unbeta'd and unproofread bc i wanted to just post it rlly bad rip

After a lot of explaining and various weird looks from the skin care specialists they meet downstairs, Woojin is successfully painted green from his forehead to his shoulders in avocado mask.

 

They even take it upon themselves to draw him scales using their standard clay mask too, and when they’re finished, he ends up looking like a very believable dinosaur.

 

As Woojin roars, screams, and runs around the room with his toy car, Guanlin and Jihoon sit on two spa chairs facing towards an elegant looking koi pond that is built into the natural stone floor of the mountain.

 

And Guanlin can’t help but to snicker when he gazes over at the other who sits motionless, eyes contemplative and mildly regretful because Guanlin somehow talked him into trying on a mask too, despite all his protesting during their trip down the elevator.

 

“Is something wrong?” Guanlin asks.

 

Jihoon frowns and slowly touches his face, “It feels... _slimy…”_

 

“As it should.”

 

He then brings his hand up to his nose, “It doesn’t even smell like avocado.”

 

“There’s other stuff mixed into it too, you know. Like, oils and such…”

 

“So…” Jihoon pauses, looking genuinely puzzled, “You’re saying... I _can’t_ eat it?”

 

The corners of Guanlin’s mouth twitch into smile and he says, “Park Jihoon… were you seriously planning on eating the mask off your face?”

 

And if it weren’t for the fact the other’s cheeks were covered in said mask, Guanlin is pretty sure the shorter would be tomato red. “NO??” Jihoon blurts out.

 

Guanlin snickers, “That’s highly unsanitary,” which just adds to the other’s growing embarrassment.

 

 _“_ I THOUGHT— _B-BUT THEY ALWAYS DO IT IN THE MOVIES…”_ Jihoon yells looking both stressed and betrayed.

 

Guanlin tsks amusedly, “So, you _were_ going to eat the mask.”

 

“I didn’t say that.”

 

“You implied it.”

 

 _“_ I— _… shut up,”_ Jihoon hisses, annoyed, and turns to look everywhere but at the other.

 

It makes him laugh.

 

“Jihoon? Admitting defeat? This isn’t like you at all,” He hums, the smile ever growing on his face, “I think the peaceful atmosphere of the spa is finally getting to you. Tell me, are you enjoying yourself yet?”

 

Jihoon holds up a hand, “Wipe that grin off your face _Lai Guanlin_ , I still hate this place,” He frowns, “I’m here for one reason and one reason only.”

 

“And what’s that?”

 

Suddenly, Jihoon’s phone is in Guanlin’s lap, and he leans back in his spa chair, throwing up a peace sign.

 

“Take a picture of me,” He says, “I need to document my entire spa trip for my sister.”

 

Guanlin snorts.

 

He’s unsurprised with the answer, yet still greatly entertained by the smirk on Jihoon’s face. And he does as he’s told; taking a picture of the other who looks theatrically comfortable in his chair with his eyes closed, legs propped up, and face mask slathered on every inch of his face.

 

“Make sure to get one with the koi pond in it too,” He enthusiastically instructs; reclining further back into his chair and folding his hands behind his head.

 

It’s silly, but cute. And Guanlin dimly wishes he could save one of the photos for himself.

 

“Did you get them?” Jihoon smiles eagerly, taking his phone back after a few moments to look through the pictures.

 

Guanlin nods and bends over in his chair to watch Jihoon choose is favorites to send.

 

And only seconds later, Nayoung replies with a picture of her hand. _Only her hand_. And she’s flipping Jihoon off with a perfectly manicured finger.

 

It leaves Jihoon starry eyed and beaming.

 

“What are we doing after this?” He asks excitedly.

 

Guanlin raises a brow and Jihoon clears his throat.

 

“I need more pictures,” He states.

 

Smirking, Guanlin takes out his little pamphlet of spa activities and recites, _“Well,_ there’s a lot of things we can do; they have saunas, hot springs, massages… Even a hair salon if you’re feeling like getting a haircut.”

 

“How about something that isn’t boring,” Jihoon suggests.

 

“Things are only as boring as you make it, Jihoon,” Guanlin smiles and flips the page in his booklet, “Look at Woojin, he’s having fun and he’s doing the same thing that we are.”

 

When they turn to look at the toddler, they find that he is getting even more of his body covered in green mask while he jumps on one of the spa chairs, speaking rapidly at the attendants who listen probably just to humor him.

 

Jihoon snorts and rolls his eyes, “Well, Woojin and I are very different.”

 

Guanlin prompts him to continue by raising a brow.

 

“I have something that he doesn’t.”

 

“Which is?”

 

“Pride… _dignity…”_

 

“Ah,” Guanlin nods, snickering, “So it’s true then. Your _pride_ is what’s keeping you from having fun.”

 

“Having fun won’t earn me 800,000 won,” Jihoon avoids his statement with a cheeky grin.

 

“I’m not giving you 800,000 won. And the deal is only valid if you play by the rules.”

 

“Which I am.”

 

“You _barely_ are,” He laughs.

 

_“I am—”_

 

Guanlin huffs. “You know what? If you’re going to be stubborn, I’ve decided… that you’re getting a massage,” He demands.

 

_“A WHAT??”_

 

“Yup,” He presses a button calling for assistance. “It’s really such a pity a regular massage would take too much of our _precious spa time_ ,” Guanlin sighs in mock-woe, “So instead, you’re going to get a _foot_ massage!

 

“THAT’S EVEN WORSE,” Jihoon yells, “Where is this even coming from? I don’t need a foot massage that’s _gross—”_

 

“Why not? I’m helping you have fun,” Guanlin hums, before outright laughing, “And besides, if anyone at this entire resort needs a massage, it’s you. You need to learn to loosen up a little.”

 

Before Jihoon can retort with something, a friendly attendant approaches them and asks, “How can I help you?”

 

Jihoon turns to Guanlin and hisses, _“SHUT—”_

 

“—He wants a foot massage,” Guanlin cuts him off.

 

“He’s LYI—”

 

“That sounds wonderful! We’ll get you set up right away, sir,” The attendant claps her hands together with a smile.

 

Jihoon gapes at her, and when she walks away to grab a masseuse, he huffs furiously at Guanlin through his nose.

 

“Relax, you’ll have fun,” The heir assures him.

 

Jihoon purses his lips together into a pout that looks more endearing than it does angry. And just for good measure, Jihoon reaches over and jabs Guanlin on the waist with his fingers.

 

He still gets his massage in the end, sitting through the entire thing _mostly quiet_ , save for the few grumbles he directs at the other every second. He also looks like he kinda wants to kick the masseuse in the face every time she touches him; it’s amusing, Guanlin thinks.

 

It takes a few minutes into the massage before Jihoon looks like he’s given up and just accepts it; eyes closed and leaning back in his chair, letting the masseuse do her work.

 

Guanlin settles on just watching him happily while Jihoon makes sure to seem like he’s still not enjoying it the slightest. And whenever he catches Guanlin’s gaze, he’s quick to look elsewhere.

 

“Did you twist your ankle?” The masseuse asks.

 

“Yeah,” Jihoon replies in a hum. He then tilts his head towards the other and says, “I tripped, but it’s his fault.”

 

Guanlin laughs quietly, _“Pardon?”_

 

Jihoon sticks his tongue out at him when the attendant isn’t looking and Guanlin makes a face back.

 

It goes on like this for a while until the masseuse speaks up again.

 

“It’s… so swollen, how are you walking on it?” She gapes, the serious tone in her voice earning both of their attention, “Does it not hurt at all? You should have had this wrapped in something.”

 

Guanlin feels a weight drop in his stomach and he turns to Jihoon in concern.

 

“I-I mean, it hurts a little…” Jihoon blinks, looking between her and the other. “It doesn’t bother me much…”

 

“A little?” She asks, “How did you walk on it getting here?”

 

He grows flustered under the attention and shrinks in on himself. “High pain tolerance?” Jihoon tries.

 

“Please, let me wrap it up for you,” She insists, “It’s reckless to keep walking on it like this.”

 

Jihoon tries to call her back, but she leaves too quickly, and he falls silent.

 

Guilt begins to rise in Guanlin’s chest, mostly because Jihoon looks tense and at the same time, he pressured Jihoon into being here with him and the fact that he got hurt suddenly _does_ feel like it’s his fault.

 

“I’m sorry,” Guanlin finds himself saying.

 

Jihoon looks wide eyed at him and breathes, “W-Why are you apologizing? _”_

 

“I probably shouldn’t have asked you out here in the first place,” He explains, chewing on his bottom lip, “You mentioned that you wanted to go back to your cabin, and I should have left it at that.”

 

Jihoon stares at him incredulously for a few seconds, before abruptly turning embarrassed. He begins to scratch the back of his head. “Really, don’t apologize…”

 

“But it’s my fault.”

 

“I was… joking about that.”

 

Guanlin still feels guilty, and it probably shows on his face because Jihoon begins to panic like he doesn’t know what to do in this situation.

 

“L-Look, Guanlin, i-if I really didn’t want to be here, I wouldn’t,” He stammers out quickly, “To be honest, I probably would have punched your nose or something by now if I actually didn’t… _you know_. Yeah. I chose to be here so, uh, please stop… _looking like that._ I’m fine, and… you’re… _fine_. _”_

 

It’s quiet for a few moments since Jihoon looks like he wants to die, and Guanlin isn’t too sure if he still feels guilty or if he wants to laugh because Jihoon is unsurprisingly terrible at comforting people. His expression warps into something that’s both amused and slightly shocked while Jihoon… slowly begins to melt into his chair, like verbalizing his inner feelings was the most difficult thing in the world.

 

And Guanlin discovers that particular aspect is what he likes about the other; that he’s just a big softie underneath all his tantrums and that perpetually displeased persona.

 

Guanlin doesn’t push any further though, for the sake of the other’s self-pride, so he simply replies, “Okay.” And leaves it at that.

 

The response appears to be more than enough for Jihoon because hears him let out a big breath of air before rapidly beginning to tap his fingers on one of the arms of his chair, chewing on his inner cheek too.

 

The masseuse eventually comes back and the shorter looks relieved by her presence. She continues on with the foot massage and tapes up his foot afterwards, sending him off with an, “It should heal better with it wrapped, but try not to put too much pressure on it, please.”

 

Jihoon responds to her with a grateful nod.

 

They get their face masks washed off and decide to leave; check out the rest of the spa and such. Jihoon seems to be taken with how pretty the interior is and at the same time, hugs the walls because they walk by other spa goers who shoot them looks in passing.

 

Since the entire place is built into the side of a mountain, all the walls seem to be made from either its raw stone or a sleek dark tile, with streams of water running underneath a glass walkway. Every hall is either lit up by a large window or dim, with candles and various soft, dangling lights. It’s supposed to give off an ‘all natural’ feel and they do a pretty good job at doing so.

 

They kind of just aimlessly walk around the spa because neither of them really knows where to go, and Jihoon makes amusing observations along the way that makes Guanlin snort. He doesn’t want Jihoon to stop talking so he leads them down past various treatment rooms and through where the manmade hot springs are located.

 

But he can tell that there has been something off about the other ever since their last exchange because he can’t seem to look Guanlin in the eye and his comments aren’t as snarky as they typically are.

 

And he speaks rather quietly too.

 

They eventually make it into the lounge, which is a beautiful, spacious room with tall ceiling and a massive chandelier hanging from the center that twinkles in the sun. One of the walls are made entirely from glass and casts natural light all across the area, covering the many couches and chairs set about.

 

Unfortunately, Jihoon’s short ramblings come to a stop because there are several people in this room who shoot them glances once they enter, and Guanlin can tell it makes Jihoon uncomfortable so they leave quickly.

 

It takes them about three steps into the hallway until Guanlin realizes it’s a bit quiet. Too quiet. Not just because Jihoon has stopped talking but because of… something else…

 

And Jihoon probably realizes it too because he turns to him and yells, “FUCK” so loud, it echoes.

 

“It’s funny, because I was about to mention something was off too,” Guanlin says.

 

Jihoon looks stressed, “WE FORGOT WOOJIN.”

 

“Oh… _oh no.”_

 

Rapidly, they spin around and begin speed-walking down the hallway to get back to where they last left him.

 

There’s a look of panic on Jihoon’s face, and he looks like he’s about to pass out.

 

“It’s only been thirty minutes, he should still be there,” Guanlin tries to comfort him between short pants of air.

 

But Jihoon just winces and mutters, “ _Sure…”_

 

It takes them some time to finally get back to the room, but when they throw open the doors lo and behold, Woojin is missing.

 

“MY MOM IS GOING TO KILL ME,” Jihoon cries, holding his face in fear. “WHAT IF HE BROKE SOMETHING?? WHAT IF HE’S DEAD”

 

“Oh, boy,” Guanlin sighs and rubs his forehead, “I can assure you he’s probably not dead, but this… isn’t good.”

 

“HE COULD BE ANYWHERE”

 

“This spa is safe, he should be fine… I think. I mean, no one is going to hurt him obviously but…” Guanlin shuts his mouth when Jihoon shoots him a wide-eyed, horrified look. “Let’s ask someone and see if they saw where he went,” He suggests instead, gently pulling Jihoon along by the sleeve.

 

When they find a pair of familiar attendants, they unfortunately aren’t very helpful, only responding, “I’m sorry, but we thought he left with you.” And it doesn’t do anything to comfort Jihoon the slightest.

 

They leave the room to start their search, and Guanlin looks down to find Jihoon biting his lip annoyedly, arms crossed and tapping his foot, “Last time, I was joking. But this _right now_ —this is YOUR fault,” He jabs the taller in the chest.

 

Guanlin laughs loudly with his brows raised in disbelief, _“Wha—_ MY fault? I didn’t even—Please, Jihoon, kindly tell me how this is my fault.”

 

Jihoon turns to him and blurts out, “IF YOU WEREN’T SO… SO… _GAH_ —WITH YOUR STUPID EYEBALLS, WE WOULDN’T BE IN THIS MESS” He throws up his hands and starts marching away.

 

Guanlin follows, still laughing, “What?? What about _‘my eyeballs?’”_ He makes quotes with his fingers, “What’s wrong with them?”

 

“YOU’RE ALWAYS DOING THAT ANNOYING THING AND IT’S SO DISTRACTING I CAN’T EVEN CONCENTRATE AND WE LOST WOOJIN, I’M GOING TO GET DISOWNED,” Jihoon yells as he quickly turns a corner.

 

“What _‘thing?’”_

 

 _“THAT_ THING. THE THING YOU’RE DOING _”_

 

“… _what?”_

 

Jihoon abruptly stops walking and turns to Guanlin impatiently, making a vague, rushed gesture with his hands where he’s pointing out of his line of vision with two fingers, _“THAT.”_

 

And Guanlin stares at him for what feels like a whole minute, before he slowly responds, “… _looking at you??”_

 

Jihoon doesn’t reply, and instead, begins to walk away to go search for his little brother.

 

But the lack of response just tells Guanlin that he’s right and his chest swells with something warm and _very smug._

 

“Then where should I look? Huh??” He laughs. “Jihoon?”

 

Jihoon tries to hang his head down so that Guanlin can’t see that his face is a bright red. He’s probably just realized how silly he sounded confessing that and what he’s just implied, but Guanlin catches the expression anyway.

 

“Jihoon, slow down,” Guanlin snickers, “Stop walking and answer my question.”

 

But the other doesn’t do that.

 

He doesn’t stop walking until they get to the end of the hallway because Guanlin refuses to stop whining his name until he spins around.

 

And when he does, Guanlin makes sure to close his eyes just to tease him. He’s rewarded with an incredulous sounding scoff that puts a grin on Guanlin’s features.

 

“You’re RIDICULOUS,” Jihoon says.

 

“On the contrary, I believe you’re the one being ridiculous.”

 

“OPEN YOUR EYES.”

 

“Are you sure? I don’t want to cause any distraction”

 

“SHUT UP, I DIDN’T MEAN IT LIKE THAT.”

 

When Guanlin opens his eyes again, he’s met with a very flustered Jihoon that looks like he wants to claw his face off. He doesn’t even say anything too, just tries to match Guanlin’s gaze for a moment all haughtily with his arms crossed.

 

Guanlin goes to say something, but Jihoon immediately cuts him off, “We have to find Woojin. The more time we waste, the harder it’ll be, so just keep your mouth SHUT until then.”

 

“Fair,” Guanlin responds with a small grin, “I suggest we split up; you can take the top floor and half of this one, and I’ll search the other half and the bottom floor. We can cover more ground that way... and my ‘eyeballs’ won’t distract you in the process.”

 

 _“You’re so—”_ Jihoon exhales loudly, blowing his bangs out of his face and he makes an irritated noise. He gives Guanlin a scowl too, that comes off more flustered than it does vicious. He then turns around to stomp away.

 

Once he’s alone, Guanlin lets out a short laugh before shoving his hands in his pockets, turning to walk in the other direction.

 

As badly as he wants to continue riling up Jihoon, he has a green toddler to find.

 

\---

 

It takes forever.

 

You’d think it’d be easy to find Woojin considering he’s both loud and covered in avocado mask. But even after walking through the entire bottom floor, Guanlin still has yet to find the toddler or receive a text from Jihoon saying that he has.

 

Luckily, the entire bottom floor just consists of various personal saunas and a training room. He looks through the training room, not finding anyone there except for a man he vaguely recognizes as a business partner who tells him to greet his father hello. And Guanlin politely assures him that he will.

 

He then finds an attendant working in the saunas, asking if he’s seen a toddler about—he levels his hand with the floor, holding it a bit lower than his waist— _this tall_. And the attendant responds with a no, but offers to help him look through every sauna to help search.

 

Unfortunately, they don’t find him there either.

 

So Guanlin climbs back up to the second floor to see if he’s overlooked anything.

 

It takes another ten minutes before he finds himself walking down a hallway and suddenly, he hears a familiar, loud cackle that has him stopping in his tracks.

 

“Ah,” Guanlin says to himself, backtracking a few steps and waiting to see if he hears the laugh again.

 

As if on cue, Woojin starts laughing yet again, long enough for Guanlin to accurately pinpoint which door it’s coming from. It turns out to be a private treatment room. So, he prays that what’s about to happen next doesn’t go… _horribly awkward_.

 

He knocks and the voices behind the door quiet down. Soon, the door opens just a crack and he’s greeted with a pair of curious eyes that light up upon seeing him.

 

The door swings open fully and at the entranceway, stands the heiress of Jeon corporations, “GUANLIN!” She cheers, punching him on the shoulder. “What brings you here?”

 

When Guanlin looks past her, he sees that there are two other girls in the room as well. Both are daughters of large businesses as well that he’s met on multiple occasions, especially since their families are always invited to their New Year’s banquet. He spots Woojin sitting right in between them.

 

They look as if they were talking and getting their nails done. Including Woojin, who is sporting a nice shade of purple on his fingertips and laughs all high pitched when one of the girls squeezes his cheek.

 

“Hi,” Guanlin finally responds with a warm smile, “It’s always a pleasure seeing you all. I hope you don’t mind me cutting our meeting short, but I’m actually just here for Woojin. I’ve been looking for him.”

 

Upon hearing Guanlin’s voice, Woojin beams. “MISTER PIE!!” He yells, hopping off his chair and scurrying up to him.

 

The two girls look upset when he leaves, cooing their goodbyes. It puts a worried expression on Woojin’s face, so he gives them farewell hugs and wiggles his fingers, “Bye-bye!”

 

“Bye Woojinnie!” They say together.

 

“We found him walking around by himself and cleaned him up for you. He was green, kept calling himself a dinosaur too,” The heiress states, leaning up against the door.

 

“Sorry about that,” Guanlin hoists Woojin up onto his shoulders and adds, “Thank you for taking care of him though. Jihoon and I were a bit… careless.”

 

“No worries!” She grins, shooting him a thumbs up, “We’re all friends with his older sister and we adore Woojinnie! It’s sad she never brings him around enough. Speaking of which, we texted her once we found him, and she told _us_ to tell _you_ so that you can tell her brother—” She clears her throat, picks up her phone, and clicks into an 11-person group chat _, “L-M-A-O Jihoon is so going to get his ass BEAT when he gets back to the cabin, thanks, girls. Also, you’re allowed to paint Woojin’s nails_ —oh, that last part was for us.”

 

Guanlin laughs. “Thank you, I’ll be sure to tell him,” He assures her.

 

“Sounds good!”

 

“Goodbye, and thank you again,” He nods at them.

 

“See you at the party!” The other two chime in from the back, waving.

 

Guanlin exits the room with Woojin, perched up on his shoulders and playing with his hair, and he shoots Jihoon a text, saying that he’s found him.

 

Jihoon instantly replies _‘is he dead.’_

 

When Guanlin responds _‘no,’_ Jihoon then tells him to meet him by the pool since it’s the easiest place in the spa to find.

 

So he makes his way over.

 

“LOOK MISTER!! I GOT MY FINGERS PAINTED!” Woojin shouts, shoving his hands into Guanlin’s direct line of sight.

 

“Oh, wow, that’s a pretty color, Woojin,” Guanlin hums.

 

“Thanks!! It’s the same color as my noooona’s so we can match!!” He tells him excitedly, “They said that I could choose a shape to draw on my fingers too, so I asked for them to paint me racecars!! But they said that was too hard so they drew a heart on my thumb instead, SEE!!” He then shows Guanlin that there’s a little pink heart on his thumb.

 

“I’m glad you had fun,” Guanlin smiles, “Though, that wasn’t very safe, Woojin. You should have waited for us where we left you.”

 

“IT’S NOT MY FAULT!!” Woojin yells so defensively, the elder can practically see the flabbergasted look on his face. Woojin bends over Guanlin’s head so that he can see a pair of wide, upside-down eyes, “You guys were going away and I tried to run! But when I got outside, you guys just DISAPPEARED!! I thought you guys walked that way—” he points somewhere, “—but no one was there!!! And then I got lost.”

 

“I see, I see,” Guanlin laughs, “I’m sorry about that. Jihoon is worried about you, though. He got mad because you disappeared, I think he hates me now.”

 

“Hyung is always mad,” Woojin giggles, and runs his toy car in Guanlin’s hair and down the side of his face, “But don’t worry Mister Pie! Hyung likes you!”

 

Guanlin grins smugly, “You think so?”

 

“YEAH!!”

 

“How come?” He asks, thinking that it’s probably silly of him to be asking for this kind of validation from a 6-year old. But he does it anyway, “Does he talk about me?”

 

“Mmmm, sometimes!!” Woojin chirps in response.

 

“What does he say?”

 

“That you’re ANNOYING and too tall and too many people are always looking at you!!” He then pauses to think for a second, “Hyung also says you have a big head!”

 

Guanlin lets out a short laugh because _Jihoon would say that_ —he’s unsurprised, a little hurt, but wholly amused. “Those aren’t good things, Woojin. You’ve wounded me; I thought you said he liked me.”

 

“He does!!” Woojin insists, “He’s not grumpy when you’re there! Hyung looks happy when he says those things, I can tell!”

 

“You’re just saying that,” Guanlin mocks sadness and he can feel Woojin shaking his head rapidly.

 

“NO I’M NOT!!”

 

“You promise?”

 

Woojin nods and sticks a pinky finger in front of his face, “I PROMISE!!”

 

“Okay, Woojin,” Guanlin smiles, linking pinkies with him, “I’ll take your word for it. But if you’re wrong, you owe me another favor.”

 

“Okay!! Does that mean if I’m right, I can get more toys?”

 

“We’ll see,” He laughs.

 

By the time they make it to the pool, Woojin has requested to be let down and walks alongside of him. Guanlin makes sure to hold his hand though, because the toddler finds himself lagging behind and getting distracted by everything here.

 

Just like the rest of the spa, the area looks natural as well; the pool itself being burrowed into the raw stone of the mountain and filled with a teal-blue, herbal smelling water that reflects onto the ceiling’s chandelier. The entire room resembles a sea cave, yet still gives off a lavish, tranquil ambience which is why many spa guests spend a lot of their time here.

 

It takes Guanlin a few seconds too long to spot the other, because he actually overlooks him the first time. The reason being is that he finds Jihoon talking to another person by the pool.

 

As Guanlin makes his way over, he catches part of their already ongoing conversation.

 

 “— _You haven’t… heard of the Bae family?”_

 

Guanlin snorts when Jihoon warily scratches the back of his head and lets out a soft _‘sorry.’_

 

“It’s… fine,” The other says with an almost strangled patience, “I guess we’re both at fault then. I’m Bae Jinyoung.”

 

“I’m Jihoon, uh… Park Jihoon,” Jihoon replies.

 

“Park Jihoon?” Jinyoung repeats mostly to himself, looking as if he were deep in thought. An interested, small grin slowly spreads across his lips, and he says, “Ah, I’ve heard that name floating around, you’ve been quite the talk at the resort as of lately. In fact, you’re _everyone’s_ favorite topic. It’s nice to formally put a name to a face, I suppose.”

 

“M-Me??” Jihoon blinks at Jinyoung. “Uh… why?”

 

But it’s then that Guanlin cuts into their conversation and greets, “Hi, Jihoon,” then turns to the other and nods politely, “Bae Jinyoung.”

 

Jihoon visibly relaxes upon his arrival, and dimly, Guanlin wonders what the Bae family heir had said to him before he started listening.

 

“Guanlin,” Jinyoung smiles. It’s that pleasant smile that he always wears—one that doesn’t quite meet his dark, vacant eyes, “It’s nice to see you.”

 

“Likewise,” Guanlin hums, “What brings you here?”

 

“I just felt like spending some time here at the spa by myself, until your new friend and I got into a little misunderstanding,” Jinyoung replies before fully turning to face Guanlin, speaking now as if Jihoon weren’t there, “I decided to get acquainted with him. He’s just like how everyone says,” He then looks at him like he wants Guanlin to slip up and admit something he’ll regret. It’s a look he’s used to seeing from many. “Is… there a problem by chance?”

 

“Not at all.”

 

Jinyoung smiles again. “Perfect.”

 

Suddenly, the other heir starts talking to him. Things revolving around the resort, their families, and other business-related topics. And Guanlin replies, of course, but in short, polite answers because his mind is more focused on how blank the other looks as the smile slowly falls from his face. Regardless, he is trying very hard to hold a conversation with Guanlin and it’s more for status purposes than to be his actual friend—he knows this all too well.

 

In the midst of their exchange, Guanlin doesn’t even realize that Woojin has freed himself from his grasp and out of nowhere, he hears a loud _“WHEE!”_ followed by an explosive _SPLASH!_ coming from the pool right next to them.

 

Guanlin and Jinyoung stop talking to look. There they find a blob in the water that looks mysteriously like Woojin.

 

“WOOJIN, OH MY GOD—” Jihoon yells, effectively seizing the attention of everyone in the pool area. Jihoon turns to Guanlin with wide, frantic eyes, “HE CAN’T SWIM.”

 

Guanlin feels a weight drop in his stomach, and stares at Jihoon, frozen, eyes turning wide too.

 

“WHAT ARE YOU DOING?? DON’T LOOK AT ME, I CAN’T SWIM EITHER”

 

“Wha—WHAT DO YOU MEAN YOU CAN’T SWIM????” Guanlin practically yells.

 

“Okay, _Mr. Perfect_ ,” Jihoon’s worried expression drops into something bland, and he makes quotes with his fingers, “Not everyone has to know how to swim—”

 

But Guanlin doesn’t catch the rest of that sentence because he snaps into panic mode and dives straight into the pool after the toddler.

 

It’s not that deep, but he still has to swim a few feet down to retrieve Woojin who’s sunken to the bottom like a rock.

 

When he emerges from the surface with a loud gasp, Woojin hacks out water for five seconds before throwing his hands into the air, screaming, “AGAIN!! AGAIN!!”

 

“No, Woojin, stay still please,” Guanlin tries to say, but Woojin is heavy and squirming around, and there’s water filling into his nose and mouth as he tries to paddle back to the edge.

 

He hands the toddler off to Jihoon before pulling himself over the side of the pool. It’s difficult, because he’s drenched in water, and he didn’t have enough time to remove his bathrobe or shirt that’s beginning to weigh him down. He also feels like every opening in his body has been clogged with water, which he tries to cough up, and his eyes sting a bit too.

 

He’s so waterlogged, Guanlin thinks that he’s just hearing things when the sound of laughter suddenly reaches his stuffy ears.

 

He looks towards the noise in confusion, only to find that it’s Jihoon, who’s holding Woojin in one arm and covering his grin with his other.

 

Guanlin’s heart practically stops and his chest begins to feel warm because… _Jihoon’s smile is so pretty_ , he wants to remove his hand from his face just so he can see and hear it better. But it slowly dawns on Guanlin that Jihoon is laughing _at_ him; probably because of how unflattering he looks right now. Yet still, he can’t seem to stop the smile that spreads across his face as well. “What’s so funny?”

 

“Sorry. You look horrible,” Jihoon giggles, and his eyes turn into crescent moons—Guanlin can’t at all find it in himself to be mad, “No offense but this is the worst I’ve ever seen you.”

 

Guanlin snorts too and pushes his floppy, wet bangs from his eyes. “Thank you,” He says as sarcastically as he can.

 

“Hey, I said no offense,” Jihoon holds up his hands.

 

“I’m still a bit offended,” Guanlin snickers, “I just found _and_ saved your brother all in less than an hour. Cut me some slack, yeah?”

 

“I’m sorry, you’re right. You look very heroic,” The other apologizes oh-so sincerely, “And also like a wet dog.”

 

Before Guanlin can say anything else, Woojin looks at Jihoon and asks, “Hyung, why did I sink?”

 

“You can’t swim, Woojin.”

 

Upon hearing this, Woojin’s expression turns so surprised and _hurt_ , Guanlin actually feels bad. “I CAN’T???? WHY NOT?”

 

“Because floating just doesn’t run in the Park family,” Jihoon replies. “And no one ever taught you. Why did you think you could?”

 

“I saw a lady jump in and I thought I could do it too”

 

“It doesn’t work like that, Wooj’.”

 

Woojin looks as though he’s been betrayed. His eyes start welling up with tears and his bottom lip begins to quiver. Quietly, he whimpers, “How am I supposed to become a Power Ranger if I can’t swim?”

 

Before the first tear can fall, Guanlin hastily declares, “I’ll teach you, Woojin.”

 

“YOU WILL, MISTER?” The toddler lights up.

 

“Sure.”

 

Woojin bursts into happiness and he balls his hands in determination too, “THANK YOU!!!”

 

It’s only then that Guanlin realizes that the entire time, Jinyoung, as well as everyone else in the area, has been staring at them with a questioning, dumbfounded look. Jinyoung wills the expression away, however, before calling over his butler, who hands him a towel.

 

Jinyoung walks over and passes it to Guanlin. “That was reckless, are you okay?”

 

“Thank you,” He graciously takes it, “And I’m fine, though, I’m not the one who nearly drowned.”

 

Jinyoung looks him over warily, before quietly reminding the other so that only he can hear, “Mind your reputation, there are many people here watching.”

 

Guanlin knows that he’s saying it in concern to his dripping wet, disheveled appearance. But the way he side-eyes Jihoon tells him that he means it in more ways than one.

 

He matches Jinyoung’s gaze with a frown. “Thank you for the… _advice_. But in return, I advise you to not concern yourself too much with what I choose to do.”

 

Guanlin considers that maybe he was a bit too harsh, because the other heir probably meant it in a friendly way. Despite that the notion he and Jihoon shouldn’t be seen together is anything _but_ friendly.

 

Jinyoung’s eyes widen momentarily, and he looks away from Guanlin, pursing his lips and clasping his hands together apprehensively. “I apologize,” He mutters, but it comes out forced and rather irritated.

 

“No worries,” Guanlin assures him.

 

And after a few dragging seconds of silence, Jinyoung finally nods. “Well then, I’d best be off. Do have fun and I’ll see you around, yes? You still owe me one of your afternoons so that we can get lunch sometime.”

 

“Of course.”

 

“Perfect.”

 

Jinyoung offers him another grin before leaving with his butler following in suit. Guanlin notices how his shoulders are visibly stiffer the moment he turns away, making it seem as though things _weren’t_ at all perfect.

 

As reluctant as he is to play into the other’s game, Guanlin still feels like he should get to know the other. More out of curiosity regarding his motives than anything else.

 

\---

 

Unfortunately, the rest of the spa trip doesn’t go as Guanlin expects.

 

They try out this thing called ‘aromatherapy’ that Guanlin has never done before, and neither has Jihoon or Woojin. But it ends up being really boring and the attendant who assists them gets way too into it, to an almost frightening extent, so they cut the session short to go do something else.

 

Jihoon finds out that there’s a restaurant inside of the spa, so they end up eating there until Jihoon is content—Guanlin isn’t all too sure where the other puts this food, it’s a mystery.

 

Later, Woojin requests to go to the hair salon, so Guanlin takes him there to go look. They end up leaving quickly, however, because the toddler starts crying since Jihoon won’t let him dye his hair blue or he’ll get in trouble. So Guanlin takes them through the indoor garden, in hopes that it’ll settle the younger down.

 

And it does. They spend a bit of time here too since Jihoon actually enjoys it, although he won’t admit.

 

He knows because Guanlin catches the little glimmer in his eye.

 

However, this ends horribly because Woojin accidentally falls into the manmade pond when he runs across a bridge, and they rapidly sneak him out of the vicinity.

 

But their string of bad luck doesn’t end there.

 

As promised, Guanlin takes their ‘swimming lessons’ to a hot tub located inside of a small, private room that they have to request for.

 

They ask for the temperature to be set lower than normal, for Woojin’s sake, and the younger also requests for bubbles which an attendant provides by handing them 10 different solutions to choose from.

 

With the jets turned on, their hot tub turns into a lavender scented mess of bubbles.

 

Guanlin helps the toddler through various floating exercises while Jihoon sits on the other side and fiddles around on his cellphone; watching every now and then and throwing in a few unhelpful comments that makes himself and Guanlin laugh.

 

Unfortunately, Jihoon wasn’t lying when he said ‘floating doesn’t run in the Park family’ because no matter how hard Guanlin tries and how detailed he makes his instruction, Woojin just sinks right to the bottom of the tub every single time. Even after about an hour of practice.

 

When Guanlin calls it quits for the day, he notices that Jihoon had fallen asleep. Which is understandable because at this point, Guanlin is pretty tired himself.

 

He falls asleep as well, which turns out to be their Big Final Mistake because when they both wake up, they find that Woojin has dumped all 10 bottles of bubble solution into the hot tub and overflowed the entire thing until the room was bursting.

 

They dive out of the room, both gripping at Woojin and each other in horror, because the bubbles won’t stop and the smell it produces is so overwhelming, Guanlin almost feels lightheaded.

 

In short, it’s a catastrophe, and Guanlin actually gets into a bit of trouble for it. But the laughter it draws from Jihoon once they’ve made it into safety is contagious just as much as it is beautiful.

 

So he figures that it's worth it.

 

 

* * *

 

 

After their freak bubble accident, Jihoon takes Woojin up to their room where hopefully, nothing else can go wrong for the rest of the day as Guanlin talks to the spa managers for ruining the hot tub.

 

Woojin is loud the entire elevator ride up, still going on about how cool his bubble tsunami was and unfortunately, how much he likes Guanlin. Jihoon feels his eyeballs rolling into the back of his skull once Woojin brings him up again.

 

“HYUNG MISTER PIE IS SO COOL!!! THIS PLACE IS SO MUCH FUN I WANT TO GO AGAIN AND AGAIN AND AGAIN AND AGAIN AND AGA—”

 

Jihoon slaps a hand over Woojin’s mouth and states flatly, “I get it.”

 

But his hand doesn’t stay over his little brother’s mouth for long when he feels something wet and sticky slobber all over his palm. He quickly draws away in disgust.

 

“DID YOU JUST LICK ME??”

 

Woojin sticks his tongue out and continues happily, “Hyung, why don’t you ever give me piggy back rides? Mister Pie always does!!”

 

“You’re too fat. I’ll die.”

 

“Hyung’s just WEAK.”

 

“Well, if you like _Mister Pie_ so much, then why don’t you ask him to be your brother instead, hm?”

 

“Shush, hyung! You like him too,” Woojin pouts.

 

And at this, Jihoon laughs. “Sure, Woojin,” He replies sarcastically.

 

If anything, Jihoon thinks, they were friendly acquaintances who just owed each other one too many favors.

 

His stomach twists when he recalls the time at the pool, when Guanlin and that Jinyoung guy saw each other and conversed as if Jihoon didn’t exist any longer. It shouldn’t bother him, but it does. And it’s so stupid, Jihoon wills the feeling away with a simple ‘whatever,’ because he decides not caring is the most appropriate solution to this mess. “After we leave this resort, both of us are probably never going to remember any of this happened and we’ll carry on with our lives. I just so happen to tolerate him a bit more than anyone else here. _Sort of.”_ Jihoon grins, but it comes off a bit more bitter than he’d like. It doesn’t really help that admitting that made his chest sting a little, but he suppresses that feeling too and opts to just stare blankly at the doors.

 

It’s silent in the elevator for a while, until Woojin says something so uncharacteristically quiet, it startles Jihoon. _“Hyung.”_

 

Jihoon turns to blink down at the toddler who looks back at him with a serious expression on his face. “Uh… yeah?”

 

Woojin shoves his finger into his nose and says, “You’re a big dummy.”

 

Jihoon frowns.

 

The elder is about to retort with something until the elevator stops, dings, and opens up to let them out. He’s about to take Woojin’s hand when all too quickly, the toddler gasps and bolts down the hall.

 

“Woojin, you little _—_ STOP RUNNING,” Jihoon shouts, chasing after him.

 

Internally, Jihoon thinks that _of course_ _it was just his luck that Woojin had to go and get into even more trouble._ He decides that he hates spas and this completely isn’t worth the effort. And just to make matters worse, Woojin runs into a room that isn’t theirs, catching the door before it closes and disappearing inside.

 

“Fucking great,” Jihoon mumbles as he walks up to the door and gives it a few hesitant knocks. He’s expecting the worse, and is already coming up with twenty different ways to apologize—that is—before he hears a burst of laughter and a feminine voice say, “Woojinnie! How’d you get in here?”

 

The door swings open and Jihoon doesn’t know what he’s expecting, but it certainly isn’t the girl who greets him at the door.

 

He’s seen her in passing, mostly hanging out with Nayoung, but then again, Jihoon doesn’t really associate himself with his sister in public, so this sort of-kinda passes as the first time he’s actually seeing this particular girl.

 

And she’s so pretty it’s almost intimidating.

 

But unlike Jinyoung, who gave off a pretentious-intimidating aura, she feels more like Guanlin. The smile on her face is sincere and there’s an excited twinkle in her eye as she looks him up and down.

 

“You’re Jihoon!” She says, holding Woojin in her arms.

 

“I—uh, yeah,” Jihoon scratches the back of his head, “How’d you know?”

 

“Your sister,” She explains with a laugh. “And I’ve seen you around the resort.”

 

“Right. I’ve seen you around too,” Jihoon mentions shyly, “Though, I don’t think I ever caught your name…”

 

Suddenly, the girl’s expression drops and she looks hurt, “N-Nayoung never mentioned me? B-But I thought we—”

 

Jihoon panics because she looks like she’s going to cry, so he blurts out, “P-PLEASE DON’T TAKE IT PERSONALLY! I’m sure you’re great. Nayoung doesn’t tell me anything or, like, speak to me in general. Actually, I’m pretty sure she hates me. But you don’t have to worry about that because the feeling is mutual,” He rambles, and the girl starts to look more puzzled than upset, “Nayoung _despises_ me, so just know that her not telling me about you is probably a good thing.”

 

“Well…” She pauses for a moment, before extending her hand, “Alright then! I’m Zhou Jieqiong!”

 

“I-It’s nice to meet you…” Jihoon shakes her hand. She’s so bubbly and bright, Jihoon doesn’t really know where to look because looking _at_ her feels too overwhelming. So, he just stares at his feet instead.

 

“Hmmm,” Jieqiong hums, and squints her eyes at Jihoon.

 

“Is something… wrong?” He asks.

 

“Nothing! I was just thinking,” She smiles, “Beauty runs in the Park family, doesn’t it?”

 

Jihoon bursts bright red and he stammers out, “E-Excuse me?”

 

“What are you so surprised for?” Jieqiong laughs, “Nayoung is gorgeous and you are too.”

 

Jihoon doesn’t know how to reply or even act for that matter. He just stares at her and continuously grows redder and redder by the second, until Woojin chimes in, “AM I BEAUTIFUL?”

 

“Yes you are, Woojinnie!” She coos and squeezes his cheek. “So is Daniel, can you tell him that for me?”

 

“YES!!” Woojin nods.

 

“Speaking of which,” Jieqiong changes the subject, “Do you know what Nayoung’s favorite scent is?”

 

“Uh… why?”

 

“Because I wanted to buy her something here since she couldn’t come along with our friend group today…” She replies hastily, but her cheeks turn a bit pink and she clears her throat, “In return, I’ll help you out too.”

 

“Help me?” Jihoon repeats confusedly, he’s taken aback by how upfront this girl is despite only formally knowing each other for about three minutes now. It almost makes him tired, “H-How?”

 

She looks at him with a knowing smile, “Guanlin and I go _waaay_ back, we’re practically siblings. I can help you, you know… _make your move.”_

 

Jihoon sputters embarrassedly. “WHAT”

 

“Don’t give me that look,” Jieqiong laughs, “Everyone knows. News travels around the resort fast; nothing much ever happens here.”

 

“I don’t know what you mean??”

 

She rolls her eyes and sighs tiredly, _“Boys...”_

 

Jihoon blinks at her.

 

“Listen,” She puts her hand on her hip, smirking, “I know you _like_ Guanlin, and you know that I _like_ Nayoung. We can help each other.”

 

“WHAT?? No? Why does everyone think that I _‘like’_ him?” Jihoon spits with his eyebrows furrowed, “And EW you like Nayoung?? She’s literally Satan.”

 

“Oh, hush. Maybe to you she is, but she’s sweet and she smiles a lot,” Jieqiong hums dreamily and Jihoon gags, “She’s just a big softie and it’s endearing— _don’t tell her I said any of that though.”_

 

Jihoon stares at her like she’s crazy, which prompts Jieqiong to roll her eyes again.

 

“So do we have a deal or not?” She asks, laughing, “Tell me the scent!”

 

“It’s… uh…” He blinks out of his stupor, shaking his head too, “Vanilla…? I think?”

 

“Perfect, thank you!” Jieqiong grins. “Now, about Guanlin…”

 

She then motions for him to get closer, as if she were going to whisper into his ear. And Jihoon doesn’t really know why he leans in because he shouldn’t care, but he still does anyway.

 

Jieqiong is about to say something before quickly, she draws away and grins, “Hello, Guanlin!!”

 

“What?”

 

“Jieqiong?” He hears someone say behind him. When Jihoon turns, he finds that it’s the other is there, who is staring down at him in shock, _“Jihoon??”_

 

“Oh, hi,” Jihoon responds.

 

Guanlin looks horrified, which isn’t a look Jihoon is used to seeing on the usually composed heir. It catches him off guard. “W-What did she tell you?” Guanlin looks between the two of them with wide eyes.

 

“I didn’t say anything, silly,” Jieqiong assures him with a smile.

 

“I don’t believe you.”

 

She snickers.

 

Jihoon doesn’t get to hear the rest of their conversation, because the two of them suddenly switch to Chinese. Although he can’t understand what they’re saying, he figures that it’s something Guanlin isn’t quite enjoying because he looks both flustered and panicked, stammering every now and then too.

 

They go on like this for a minute until Guanlin massages his temples and replies to something that Jieqiong has said, which makes her laugh and Guanlin sigh.

 

“Let’s go,” Guanlin tells Jihoon in Korean.

 

“What was that about?”

 

“Nothing, just don’t listen to her.”

 

“You’re not very subtle!” Jieqiong calls as Guanlin begins to walk away, towards their room.

 

Before Jihoon can follow, she hands him Woojin and says, “He likes you. A lot.”

 

“Is… that the secret?” Jihoon squints at her. “I mean, that’s not too surprising. We’re sorta-kinda technically friends, I guess.”

 

Jieqiong’s expression falls exhausted. “You’re so hopeless. Both of you, I swear,” She groans, “I mean he _likes_ you. Like, he’s interested.”

 

Jihoon doesn’t know why his heart skips a beat and his eyes widen slightly. He feels stupid. He looks over to Guanlin who is still walking away and back to her, and says, “I don’t… know what I’m supposed to do with that information?”

 

“Use it to your advantage.”

 

He starts to feel doubtful. “For all I know, you could be wrong and-or lying to me.”

 

“Why would I lie to you?”

 

“I don’t know,” Jihoon murmurs, “I haven’t met the _greatest_ people at this resort so far, how do I know you’re not one of them?”

 

“I’m not lying or wrong,” Jieqiong insists. But when Jihoon just continues to stare incredulously at her, she sighs loudly, “If you don’t want to believe me, then fine. Don’t. Just keep what I’ve told you in mind, okay?”

 

“… Sure,” Jihoon replies.

 

She then shoots him a thumbs up, “Good luck!”

 

“Um… you too, I guess?”

 

The thing is, Jihoon does keep her little statement in mind.

 

When they return to their room, Guanlin insists that they watch the sunset from the massive window there, and so they do; counting down the minutes until the sun fully sets and filling the time with meaningless conversations.

 

Jihoon realizes that he feels comfortable like this. Just, talking.

 

He doesn’t really know what to think about his feelings or if he even has _feelings_ to begin with. Part of him tells him that there’s nothing, because it’s the most probable explanation to whatever their relationship is considering how different they are. It also tells him that this is temporary, borderline false, and Jihoon shouldn’t get his hopes up or try.

 

But then another part of him aches because when the sun finally sets, and the light casts a warm, golden glow upon Guanlin’s features; Jihoon is breathless.

 

Guanlin turns to him, looks at Jihoon excitedly like he wants nothing more in the world than to share this moment with him. And it’s then that Jihoon feels like maybe… there’s something. Even though he doesn’t quite know what it is yet and is too afraid to face it.

 

“It’s pretty, right?” Guanlin asks, looking towards the sunset.

 

Jihoon tears his gaze away from the other and looks too. “It’s… nice,” He says, which earns him a snort.

 

“You’re impossible.”

 

The response makes Jihoon snicker.

 

They continue to watch until it’s time to head back, and Jihoon thinks that for now, he’s content. And he figures that this is okay.

 

When they’re sitting in the gondola lift, riding back to the resort in the dark, Guanlin asks him quietly since Woojin is asleep, “Did you have fun?”

 

Jihoon almost laughs out loud because he’s completely forgotten about their little deal. He has to bite back a smile, thinking back on everything because, “Are you kidding me? That was a disaster,” He whispers back.

 

Guanlin snorts in agreement. “You’re right, things didn’t go all too great. I guess you win then.”

 

“I guess I do,” Jihoon grins, “I always do.”

 

“I suppose so,” The heir shrugs amusedly. “So, what do you want?”

 

Jihoon thinks for a few moments, sitting back in his chair, “I want you… to teach me how to ski.”

 

“You want me to teach you how to ski?”

 

“Is that a problem?”

 

“No, I mean,” Guanlin looks confused, “I just thought that you’d ask for your 800,000 won.”

 

“You can give that to me too if you’d like.”

 

“That’s quite alright,” Guanlin grins at him, “Then… skiing it is?”

 

“Yeah,” Jihoon replies.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> IMAGINE BEING AN IDIOT LMAOOOOOOOOO  
> [CONFIRMED] woojin is the most powerful person at this resort, and has everyone wrapped around his finger. he’s got all the connections and everyone loves him sdjfSDfJFDFJDFJDSFEIUSIDF  
> finally, jihoon meets jieqiong and baejin makes his official (but not first) appearance… we can start moving along again LMAO  
> a little napink? uwu I hope u don’t mind lol. If u do, then know that they wont become prominent until the last few chaps. And if u like them, then FUCK YEA!!!  
> (also don’t dislike baejin yet >:( ur not allowed to)
> 
> A N T I C I P A T E W H A T S T O C O M E
> 
> and I’d love to hear ur thoughts uwu
> 
> (twt @onguanlinnie / cc @coppercoin)


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